Why we Travel: The Horrors and Wonders of life on a Liveaboard Sailboat
In todays technology dominated societies, social media serves as an ideal platform to share the worlds beauty with virtual explorers roam every corner of the globe. Our journey, sailing our live aboard sailboat around the world, has gifted us with cherished memories, remarkable stories and invaluable lessons which we can share with others. This week we reflect on what travel means to us and what it has taught us.
Thank you for helping keep us afloat and supporting the creative process. You can be part of the crew for less than the price of a coffee. https://www.patreon.com/CruisingKiwis
BACK STORY In 1997, after rowing at the Atlanta Olympics, Rob rowed a tiny 7m (22 foot) plywood boat 2,500 miles from Tenerife (Canary Islands) to Barbados (Caribbean). It took six weeks for Rob and rowing partner, Phil Stubbs, to complete winning the inaugural Atlantic Rowing Race.
Skip forward to 2014 and, married with three children, Rob and his wife Rachel purchased Javelot, a 43 ft Fountaine Pajot catamaran. Armed only with Rob's 3 years of racing P class yachts from the age of 11 to 13, and Rachel's non existent sailing knowledge, We set off to learn the ropes of ocean sailing. We broke stuff, replaced stuff and got to know their boat before heading offshore with the kids, Finn (then 13), Declan (then 11) and Ivan (then 8), in tow. Through trial and error we have become confident wayfarers, kind of. The plan? To sail around the world. Part of the journey will be retracing Rob’s eldest brother Kerry’s travels at sea. Using Kerry’s original letters from the 1970’s we hope to retrace his movements from Australia through Indonesia and South East Asia to Cambodia where Kerry’s life was cut short after straying into Cambodian waters in 1978. Kerry and two friends were attacked by a Khmer Rouge gun boat, captured, tortured and executed. www.brothernumberone.co.nz ***** Follow us in real time on Instagram and Facebook @thecruisingkiwis @finn_hamill @declan_hamill @ivanhamill
