Kiri's mast has arrived

16th February massive excitement as Kiri's mast arrived at the SAS yard. Even more exciting Kiri was delivered the next day and we were able to go to the lagoon factory and follow Kiri all the way to Les Sables-d'Olonne

 
Kiri’s first road journey from Belville to Les Sable

17th February, It was so worth getting up early 6 am and going to the factory to follow Kiri on her journey to Les Sables. All night I had worried that we would wait all day and no boat. As it turned out my worries were totally unfounded upon arriving at the factory, the pilot vehicles were already there two vans & two motorbikes, the driver of the van confirmed Kiri was definitely being loaded and would be coming out the gate very soon, what a relief.
The delivery team was incredible. The entire journey seemed to be full of major hazards to be avoided, up and down Kiri went on the trailer, under bridges, knocking over traffic cones on the side of the road, avoiding road worker trucks, squeezing through a few tight spaces with what looked like inches to spare.
The entire way we were right behind Kiri, watching the pilot motorbikes racing around stopping traffic while the pilot vehicle at the back kept zapping side to side making sure they didn't hit anything. Driving down the motorway Kiri was so wide she took up the two lanes, no one could get past.
Finally while watching the truck driver back Kiri into the yard we really appreciated the incredible skill of the entire team and still find it hard to believe they made it without hitting anything.
We were so happy and very very lucky to have seen Kiri during the construction period as well as to be able to follow her on the truck from the factory to the yard in Les Sables-d'Olonne.

It takes two weeks to get Kiri ready before Kiri is finally handed over to us.

From arriving in the SAS yard it takes two weeks to get a boat ready for hand over to its owner. For approximately the first week Kiri was in the yard having the mast, and all the bits and pieces that weren't able to be on during transit fitted. It was interesting watching the French workday it seemed that at home time it was down tools no time to pack up just go home which we used to use to our advantage. Confession time, one evening, while Kiri was still out on the road Marcel had just happened to notice the SAS team had left the door open to the saloon. For Marcel, it was a perfect reason for us to go on board and have a sneaky look around. I was quite nervous as we really weren't meant to go onboard without a lagoon representative till the handover. It was crazy the keys were in the door, and hundreds of dollars worth of tools and equipment were left lying around the cockpit and cabin. However, it was a buzz to finally get inside, even if it was a quick nerve-wracking look around. While in the yard it was a perfect opportunity for the sign writer to put Kiri’s stickers on it was such a buzz to watch the stickers go on giving just another boat in the yard, her own identity Kiri Maia 2 from New Zealand.

Splashdown, one more week before Kiri is officially ours.

25th February, Kiri was hooked up to the tractor ready for her last road trip. Once "Slinky" our dinghy was put up onto the davits it didn't take long at all for Kiri to go from the yard to the ramp and launched, what sweet sound it was when they started the engines and headed to the fuel dock. While on the dock one of SAS team took Slinky for a quick blast, testing the outboard motor, a push of a button and the engine roared into life oh so easy. No more struggling to start the outboard motor.
At this time we were car-less so we kept ourselves busy buying safety gear from the nearby chandlery shops and making sure everyone was ready to install the extras, we had ordered. Quite a bit needed to be done before we could leave for lovely warm Spain really very exciting. (lucky neither of us looked at the weather forecast for Spain, as it was not much different to Les Sables in fact Google told us the weather was very similar to Ireland)

Hand over day, finally arrived

Friday 4th of March, 5th of March is our wedding anniversary, what better present could we wish for Kiri Maia 2. It was a bit of an unusual handover, in normal circumstances, our broker would have flown to France and carried out the handover with us & Lagoon's agent. As the broker is responsible for any issues & warranty jobs that may need to be carried out. The broker goes through the boat with the Lagoon representative checking everything is in working order, inside as well as outside. In the excitement leading up to the hand over we never really thought about the importance of the handover and having support on the day. It really became obvious we should have had a lot more support after seeing how the handover was carried out for Shannon & Paul, champagne, flowers, jackets, hats, and most importantly a full going over of their boat inside and out.

Moving onto Kiri the hard work had just begun.

The aim was for the contractors to install the extras we had ordered, solar panels, engine bay fire extinguishers, Vesper VHF system, and extras sails ASAP. While the contractors were working hard out, we had to find homes for our five pallets of gear from Greece as well as everything we had purchased during the previous six months. Living on the dock proved to be quite entertaining, people coming and going all day, protesting French fishermen started lighting huge fires using tyres black stinky smoke everywhere. As well as lighting fires they blocked the harbor so the boats couldn't leave. There was never a dull moment.

TMG Australia to our rescue

Paul and Shannon’s broker from TMG in Australia were amazing. Even though we were familiar with how to sail a catamaran, I particularly found it very nerve-wracking that we hadn't had a chance for a shake-down sail. Especially as our first intended sail was going to be three nights across the notorious Bay Of Biscay. John (from TMG) spent a day with Marcel going over the outside of the boat checking the rigging, sail set up, marking our reefing lines, and much more, then best of all John agreed to come with us for our shake down sail.

Kiri’s Shakedown sail

Thursday 25th March: there was an explosion of activity on Kiri, as TMG offered to carry out a shakedown sail with us tomorrow. This meant little jobs had to be finished and everything secured.
Friday was another best day ever we had finally left the dock for the first time with Paul and Shannon fellow sailors and John from TMG, it was great having them all on board for our first ever sail on Kiri. It was an absolutely perfect day for sailing, with light winds, enabling us to put all the sails up including our Code Zero. The Code Zero is a very large sail in true Kiwi colors black & white. John & Marcel were also able to carry out a few modifications as required.
The shake-down sail came at a perfect time, as this week there was a perfect weather window to leave Les Sables-d'Olonne and set sail for Spain.

Marcel and I want to say a big thank you to TMG Australia for helping us we really appreciate everything you have done to help us, John was a wealth of information.

One last important job before leaving Les Sables d’Olonne.

Kiri Maia 2’s, Christening Ceremony was carried out with great relish by John, words of wisdom a Champaign tribute to Poseidon, and very importantly a branch full of green leaves symbolizing safe returns.

Sunday 29th March it's time to say goodbye to Les Sables-d'Olonne, what an amazing time we have had while waiting for Kiri Maia 2. Traveling to so many different countries enjoying many different cultures and best all of the people we met along the way, helped to make the time we spent in France a blast.

Now its time to look forward to the next chapter of our journey

A journey with so many uncertainties

25th August 2021. Leaving NZ we could never have dreamed where our journey to finally owning Kiri Maia 2 would take us. We have been to amazing places & met so many wonderful people, that helped us enjoy the wait till Kiri Maia 2, was finally handed over on the 4th of March.

From Greece to Les Sables France

7th September the rough plan upon arriving in Bordeaux France was to hire a car & drive to Les Sables, find an apartment and settle into life in France till Kiri was delivered. Luck was on our side, the manager of a hotel close to the Lagoon dock, had a lovely sunny apartment available to rent for the winter months.

Our first visit to the Lagoon factory didn't go exactly how we would have liked

27 October, In the excitement of booking a factory visit which was organized by our broker in NZ it seems nobody thought to ask if boat 160 (Kiri) was in production.
It was a massive disappointment to find out Kiri Maia2 wouldn't be started for another two weeks. Then adding to our disappointment, there weren't any 450'S in production for us to view only lots of 42's and 46's. On the positive side, the tour of the factory was great, we saw the entire process of building these very large boats from the first cut pieces of fiberglass to being a complete boat ready for soft furnishings & fit-out of the exterior. Incredibly this part of the building process only takes 28 days for a boat to come out of the factory in one-piece hulls & decks put together.
Oliver our guide from Lagoon understanding our massive disappointment, suggested we contact our broker to organize another factory tour when Kiri was actually in production. Oliver also had insider information on Kiri’s production schedule, we were advised to try for the first week of December as Kiri would be near the end of the production line. At this stage Kiri would be in separate pieces giving us the advantage of seeing her internal workings, electrical, plumbing, etc.
Organizing a factory tour is far easier said than done. Firstly Marcel had to email our broker with the week we wanted to go, our broker then emails his contact in Hong Kong who in turn emails the Lagoon factory which then confirms the date. Success our visit was booked for the 3rd of December.

So happy boat 160 “Kiri Maia2” is real.

On the 3rd of December, we finally got to see Kiri, all be it, in four separate pieces. The top deck, the hull, back steps, and helm roof. All in the production line waiting their turn to be put together as a complete boat. It really was fantastic to go from one part of Kiri to the next. It really was a great way to view her as we could see how everything is fitted together. All the cabinetry & engines were installed, the plumbing and wiring had been done and so much more.
Oliver told us it would take about five days to finish putting all the pieces together while moving down the line to a very large pool. The pool is used to run the engines and leak test the boats. After the pool, Kiri will move outside to another factory to be fitted out with soft furnishings curtains etc

Seeing Kiri Maia2 made our decision to stay in France worthwhile.

Click on a photo to enlarge it, then you can scroll through them all.

• Very first photo of us on Kiri Maia2 Very first photo of us on Kiri Maia2
• So many things to learn So many things to learn
• I am leaving it up to Marcel to ask all the technical questions I am leaving it up to Marcel to ask all the technical questions
• Hard at work Installing the kitchen Hard at work Installing the kitchen
• Marcel & Oliver the Lagoon rep Marcel & Oliver the Lagoon rep
• Deck of Kiri its hard to picture all the pieces coming together Deck of Kiri its hard to picture all the pieces coming together
• The hull the engines have been fitted The hull the engines have been fitted
• Looking down into our cabin Looking down into our cabin
• Owner cabin our bed in the making Owner cabin our bed in the making
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• Definatly avery essential appliance to have! Definatly avery essential appliance to have!
• All the electronics for navigation All the electronics for navigation
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• Yanmar engine 50hp Yanmar engine 50hp
• So much to explain So much to explain
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• Back steps x 2 seperate pieces Back steps x 2 seperate pieces
• Most important the Helm staition roof Most important the Helm staition roof
• Yes, the out side shower has been intalled Yes, the out side shower has been intalled
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