About 18 or so years ago, I started crewing on a boat called Natural Magic. Little did I know how the course of my life would change from the moment I stepped on board that boat. Not only did I meet my sailing sensei Ivan Atkinson, as well as lots of other great people, but…
A wee trip down memory lane! An article I wrote for the Naval Point Club Lyttelton newsletter about the annual legendary Pigeon Bay Race way back in 2007… Ahhh what a lot of fun adventures we’ve had over the years.
Have you ever been at a function and you walk around having polite boring conversations with strangers about the weather, until you FINALLY find the one person in the room who has a boat? You breathe a sigh of relief, and spend the rest of the night chatting to them sharing stories of adventures on…
Isn’t it amazing that after 14 years, I am still learning things about my boat?! One day Andrew casually asked when the last time was that I replaced the water hoses on the motor. “Ummmmmm… hoses, what hoses?? Oh those black ones…? – nope never replaced them” I replied. “Well you do know that if…
My friend Craig Edwards has a Young 88 called Flying Machine. We spend lots of time cruising with these guys up and down the South Island coastline and attempting to race them around Lyttelton Harbour. Craig has got a wicked sense of humour and tells some fantastic stories which get me rolling around in fits…
“Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing — absolutely nothing — half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” “In or out of ’em it doesn’t matter. Nothing seems to matter, that’s the charm of it. Whether you get away, or whether you don’t; whether you arrive at your destination or…
I was over on Wildwood the other day, just checking up on her after our trip to Japan, and when I was driving home I spotted a huge bright green hull with a very short mast sitting over the other side of the harbour. Being the eagle eyed, sticky beak that I am, I simply…
I was very excited to have been nominated for the Sunshine Blogger award this week by Ellen & Seth from Gone Flatboat. Ellen and Seth have some amazing adventures on their boat Celeste, most recently around Alaska and the Arctic, and they have also circumnavigated on their previous boat. If you don’t already follow their…
I have been feeling quite numb all week. Not really sure how to process what has happened. Writing seems to help, so here goes. Brain dump… In the early hours of Monday morning 14 November 2016, much of New Zealand was shaken awake by a prolonged and violent earthquake, absolutely devastating a large portion of…
Have you ever read the book “An Island to Oneself” by Tom Neale? If not you should absolutely get yourself a copy and read it. It tells the story of how in the 1960’s a man went and lived all by himself on a deserted tropical island. It is a great read. Fast forward to…
Astrolabe Sailing 