23 December 2014
We are a family of five people sailing around the world on S/Y Miss My II. It is a Laurin 44, green steel ketch from 1979, designed by Arvid Laurin. We are two adults Olof and Kristina and three children Emil (13 yr), Lovisa (11 yr) and Gustaf (7 yr).
In August 2012, we left Sweden and began our great adventure. We left Sweden with an open mind. We left the decision where to sail (Caribbean? Around the world?) and for how long for later. We chose to sail off although we knew it would mean hard work. We chose to take one step at a time and work on the boat as the trip progressed. The first challenge was the North Sea and down through Europe to the Canary Islands then came the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean. After a couple of months in the Caribbean we took the decision to continue westwards, transit the Panama channel and make our way down the South Pacific to New Zealand. There we thought we might stay and work for a year before we continued to sail on through either the Red Sea or around South Africa. But we did not give ourselves an extra year in New Zealand. Instead we decided to sail back to the tropics after the hurricane season and used the time to prepare Miss My II for coming challenges.
A new Genoa was on the wish list. The old one had seen its best days and we had a good laugh when we checked the shape of the sail at the loft. We had already made contact with a local sailmaker when we came across UK Sailmakers in Whangarei. Our friends recommended them on site and we went with him to their sail loft. There we got a very professional and personal service by Phil Houghton and his team.
Finally, we decided to invest in a new genoa.They came up to Opua a few days later and took the measurement for the new sail. When we hoisted our new beautiful genoa for the first time a few weeks later we knew we had chosen the right sail maker. With regret we had another local sail maker do some reinforcement on our main sail. The reinforcements were sewn incorrectly and had to be redone. It was with great sadness that we realized this just a few days before we had planned to set sail for Fiji. Phil Houghton at UK Sailmakers calmed us, affirmed that he could help us with restoring the sail and did so with great results.
Miss My II has an entirely different character with the new genoa and it shows that she loves her new dress. Her speed has increased and the sailing characteristics has radically improved, especially into the wind.
We are extremely pleased with UK Sailmakers and Phil Houghton especially. We have really been treated with a professionalism that is built on knowledge and long experience. In addition, Phil has given us a personal service beyond the ordinary. The genoa that UK Sailmakers delivered to us has now been tested during six months and more than 10000 miles and it has proved to be the perfect sail for us.
I will definitely recommend UK Sailmakers in Whangarei. Whatever job you ask them to do, new sails, repairs etc. you will be more than satisfied with the result. Their combination of knowledge, professionalism and personal service makes the whole difference.
Kind Regards
Kristina Svenungsson
and co
S/Y Miss My II
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