Ever wanted to board a 50+ foot luxury catamaran and sail around Rotorua’s third largest lake?

Well, now thanks to Pure Cruise in Rotorua you can.

This morning, half the staff from my office including myself were lucky enough to get a famil on the luxury 53 foot catamaran that cruises Lake Rotoiti.

The owners Matt and Tina were fantastic hosts, very hospitable and accommodating.

Upon boarding the vessel we were given a tour of the luxury catamaran including the four bedrooms onboard and heard about the history of the boat.

Once we got under way Matt gave us all the chance to steer the massive luxury catamaran which was really cool. Look out Dean Barker. During the trip we all took part in the hoisting, grinding and trimming of the sails during our tack and jives.

On the homeward (upwind) leg I got my chance to captain the luxury catamaran. The wind was a little shifty and I got a quick lesson from Matt as to how best to fill the sails with wind.

Did you know that there are little tassels on the inside and outside of the sails that, depending on how they are waving in the wind, inform the skipper/captain how the wind is travelling around the sail. Indicating whether they’re getting the most out of the available wind.

Matt was telling me that that is all the America’s Cup teams use to tell how well they are sailing into the wind.

Needless to say, I was a natural. Grinding and trimming the sails like a pro and the only one on board from our office that was capable of achieving 9 knots during the up wing leg. Pretty chuffed for my first outing on a sail boat.

It was a really great experience and we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I had a really great time and it is something i’d really like to do again, maybe with a bunch of friends and all our families.

It certainly bet working in office behind a computer screen for four hours, that is for sure!

Here is a few photos we took during the trip.

For more information visit: purecruise.co.nz.