What does it take to leave New Zealand by sailboat? Our CAT 1 and upgrades journey

What does it take to leave New Zealand by sailboat? For us it took 3 years of preparation and a whole lot of Adam's time, sweat, and patience. Join us in this video as we share with you our journey with CAT 1 and other upgrades we have chosen to do. We'd love to share with you how much this has cost us but we didn't do a good job at tracking the expenses...probably for the best really.
Please note that some of these jobs were system upgrades not required by CAT 1 but make the boat more reliable for travelling and full time living. However, the CAT 1 list is extensive and if you’re interested in what a NZ registered vessel has to comply with before being allowed to leave NZ by sailboat, feel free to Google Yachting NZ CAT 1 Safety Standards. It’s an extensive list and we had to do the majority of it.
We hope you enjoy it!
As always, from the crew of Te Tāiko, thanks for watching.
Sincere thanks to Charlotte Rockstar Jones for composing and recording Te Tāiko's theme song.
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------We’re Adam and Vicki. A nomadic duo who traded land life for a life afloat. Follow us to see what we see and what it's like living a nomadic lifestyle. After spending 2.5 years exploring New Zealand's coastline, Tāiko is now a CAT 1 registered boat and we have made our first offshore passage sailing from New Zealand to Fiji where we currently are.
In December 2021 we moved aboard our sailboat Te Tāiko, a Chico 40. Tāiko is our floating home. She gives us the freedom to go anywhere the wind and weather allows. Our plan? We try not to make too many plans but we're currently in Fiji and will see where wind and sea will take us next. In the meantime, follow along with us as we navigate this lifestyle whilst sharpening our skills sailing New Zealand waters. We release a new video every Sunday.
#boatlife #boat #travelvlog #digitalnomad #lifestyle #sailing #travel #sailinglife

[@user-gk1qc1eu2i]

I agree with you on knowing your boat, not only for your own but I have found that you can also assist others.

[@sailingtetaiko]

Totally agree. We’re on the same page there. Thanks for watching, Adam.

[@lustigerwitz9931]

Came here to see what it takes to leave New Zealand by sailboat with CAT 1. Got what felt like 10 minutes intro and 10 minutes manual bilge pump. Thanks for sharing anyway.

[@sailingtetaiko]

Thank you for watching and your feedback. The manual bilge pump install was a requirement of CAT 1 which is why we showed it because we thought it would be of interest to people to see an example of what Adam had to do just to meet one thing. Although we had thought we had explained CAT 1, we can see your point and will work on detail in the future.

[@bartynz8486]

The huge burden for NZ registered yachts to achieve Cat 1 seems out of kilter for the risk, particularly when you consider the risks of say, driving a car everyday. Cost of rescue is high yet overseas registered yachts don't have to meet Cat 1.

[@sailingtetaiko]

Thank you for watching and your comment. Some of the stuff that we showed on the list were chosen upgrades and not CAT 1 requirements. Tāiko had never been offshore before so we had to start from scratch with meeting CAT 1. Although there was a lot to do and was challenging/expensive for us at times, we actually found going through the process for us did improve the safety onboard and made us think about things a bit more.

[@ambikesandboards]

I thought you was gonna say all the requirements for CAT 1. I was curious being from the USA we don't have any of the sort. Thanks for sharing

[@sailingtetaiko]

Thank you for your message and for watching. It’s a long list but you can Google Yachting New Zealand Offshore Safety Standards to see what NZ registered yachts have to meet to go offshore. It took us 3 years because of the expense for us to meet these standards plus the upgrades we had to make to be able to live/work full time on Te Tāiko. Tāiko had never been offshore so we had a long list! It’s quite a big thing.

[@nortonmolly]

I don’t think you explained why a Cat 1 is necessary. Is it just to get insurance for offshore sailing. Or will the Customs people not stamp your passport if you try to clear out of the country? Did you really put in a whole new engine? You got a mention on James the sailor man Instagram page today. I see you made it successfully to Fiji, well done 👍👍

[@sailingtetaiko]

Thanks for commenting. Yes Customs require a Cat 1 certificate when clearing out of NZ if your vessel is NZ registered. So it’s an absolute requirement for NZ vessels departing NZ. Yes we replaced the aging engine with a BetaMarine45T. It’s a great little engine. Thank you our first offshore passage went well and we are now plotting a course to remote eastern islands of Fiji which we will show in future episodes. Thanks heaps for watching! Cheers Adam

[@sailingtetaiko]

@@captainjimolchs Thank you for commenting. That's not what we are saying. We have said in the video, the video description, and in response to some comments that some of the work Adam has done over the last three years have been upgrades to Tāiko so that we can live aboard. The engine was not part of CAT 1 but rather something we had to do as our previous engine was failing.