Live(ish) updates on where we have been and where are now
We are an adventurous, middle aged, hard working couple who believe that in life, we choose our own adventure and we are the only ones that hold the key to that choice. With that in mind, to realise those dreams, you need to make some brave choices and step way outside your comfort zone.
We are Helen and Steve – H and S for short, which hopefully explains the HandS references!
We met in Auckland in mid 2017 and both have adult children from previous relationships which we are intensely proud of.
In January 2020, surrounded by our beautiful family and close friends, we were married on a friends property on Banks Peninsula in the South Island of New Zealand. It was a perfect day and only the beginning of a huge adventure that lay ahead.
I (Helen) have been sailing all my life. Originally from the UK, my parents were keen to learn to sail and this meant my three sisters and I were immersed in the sport. Every weekend was spent racing dinghies before gradually we all expanded our horizons and explored the opportunities that were presented to us as we graduated to the exciting world of keeler racing and cruising.
I moved to the South Island of New Zealand with my young family and eventually started racing a Nolex 22, trailer sailor in Lyttelton with considerable success. Sadly my family did not share my passion for sailing and, in an attempt to lure them onto the water, I bought a Whiting 29 keeler. Instead of being joined by family on weekend adventures exploring the Canterbury coastline, I was joined by numerous friends on board for exciting sails and peaceful nights in some of the best bays on Banks Peninsula.
The pull of Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf drew me to the big city and with it came the challenge of moving the boat from Christchurch so I could realise the first part of my dream. Enter Steve! We met one night in a bar in The Viaduct on Auckland’s waterfront. Steve had no sailing experience but seemed keen to learn! How little did he know then that sailing was to become a central focus of his life in just a few short years time!
After helping sail my boat from Lyttelton to Wellington, he was hooked, both on me and sailing. Many happy weekends and holidays were spent on the boat exploring Auckland’s beautiful bays and islands. Was it on one of those magical weekends in Hauraki Gulf’s sailors paradise, that the idea was first hatched to think big and dream of distant shores and more adventures? We don’t remember that detail, but it was not too long before we started planning and researching the possibility of moving overseas and living on board a boat for a few years.
The date was set – Steve would not renew his contract at work when it expired in February 2020. After 15 years working at Air New Zealand as an IT consultant, all of a sudden the dream was becoming a reality! Houses and belongings were sold – the shackles that tied us to our old lives were cast away and the search for a perfect boat (does it exist?) and our adventure begin……