Captain’s Log
First Entry
It all began a long time ago when my father introduced me to sailing as a toddler. His first real keel boat was a 27’ wooden yacht named Saga (see above) - designed in 1938 by Colin Wild and built in the 1950’s. We grew up on Saga and a succession of other boats that followed in her wake. Weekends away exploring the coastline, long summer holidays sailing with family friends. One way or another, boats have been an integral part of my life, right through to today.
Last year, on a whim, we bought a sister ship to Saga and restored her to her former glory. This became a project to help get through the tedium of lockdowns. Valezina is now arguably, better than she was the day she left the Salthouse boatyard back in 1958. Our efforts have ensured she’ll be around for another sixty years of cruising around the beautiful Hauraki Gulf, here in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Valezina 2021
Ever since those first years under my father’s tutelage, I’ve harboured a secret desire to cross the world’s oceans in my own sailboat. As a small boy I devoured tales of the heroic and adventurous mariners of old, and as a consequence, the sea has always beckoned me.
Finally, at the beginning of last year, my stars aligned. I came across Dream Team, laid up on the hardstand, in a small boatyard in the south of Spain. After a quick visit to inspect her late December 2019, I made a commitment to myself that this was the moment, and agreed a deal with the previous owner. In February 2020 I officially took ownership….and then, a month later, Covid 19 struck!
HONEY - Dufour 425 Grand Large
Fast forward almost 2 years - After a name change to Honey and the ravages of the global pandemic, it’s finally time to realise my dream.
ETA in Spain is 4th December. There’s several weeks of hard work ahead to recommission Honey before she’s ready to become a home for the foreseeable future. The aim is to have her back in the water by Christmas. And then the adventure begins.
The master plan is to spend most of ‘22 exploring the Eastern Mediterranean before turning westward back towards Gibraltar in November. There’ll be a stopover there for re-provisioning and to prepare Honey for crossing the Atlantic Ocean. From there we begin a long, roundabout journey home to New Zealand. Our course will take us via the Caribbean Sea, through the Panama Canal, across the Pacific Ocean, and around the South Pacific before making the final turn south and heading for home - a journey that will see us sail more than 20,000 nautical miles. But who knows how it will unfold day by day? As all good sailors know, we only ever go where the winds blow.
If you’re interested in the journey, follow along and share the highs and lows - I promise there will be both! The voyage log will be here in these pages, or you can follow along on Instagram for more up to date snapshots.
