ATLANTIC ODYSSEY
Not a sailor ? No worries.
When Kiwi couple Abby Sanford and Rohan Honson-morris took their yacht out for the first time ahead of their planned Atlantic crossing, they didn’t even know how to turn on the engines.
The pair had been so captivated by the sight of a catamaran ‘‘surfing the most perfect wave’’ in Fiji the previous year that they’d made it their 2017 New Year’s resolution to buy their own yacht and embark on an epic voyage.
‘‘It took me about eight months to come around to the idea,’’ Abby, 25, says. ‘‘This is the type of thing people dream about but never take the plunge because it is terrifying. But after a few months we ended up having no reasons not to give it a try.’’
The couple had no sailing experience when Rohan, 28, bought a small Hobie Cat to start practising on after their return from Fiji.
The 2007 Lagoon 420 Catamaran they bought shortly after, using funds from the sale of their house, was the first sailing yacht either of them had ever set foot on. But that didn’t stop them setting themselves the challenge of sailing from the Mediterranean to the archipelago of Cape Verde off the northwest coast of Africa before crossing the Atlantic to the British Virgin Islands in the Caribbean – a distance of 5700 nautical miles.
Growing up in small beachside communities north of Christchurch (Abby is from Pines Beach and Rohan from Woodend Beach), the couple say they developed a thirst for adventure that will probably never be quenched. Perhaps partly because they both spend so much time in salt water.
‘‘There is something about the sea that has always grabbed my attention,’’ Abby says. ‘‘The wildlife, surfing, getting smashed by the waves and having the salt and sand on your skin. There is nothing I enjoy more in life than being out in the pure water.’’
Similarly, Rohan says, ‘‘If I could be on the water every hour of every day, my life would be complete.’’
While private yachting holidays are often thought of as the preserve of the privileged, Abby and Rohan are keen to stress they worked hard to realise their sailing dreams.
‘‘We do not come from wealthy families. We have always earned our own money to do the things we wanted in life,’’ Abby says.
Despite Abby’s initial reservations, the pair decided that trading their beloved first home in the small surf town of Waikuku Beach for the yacht would enable them to lead more relaxed – and mortgage-free – lives.
‘‘It was all just ‘‘stuff’’ to us that we were selling. We wanted to minimise our things and just keep what is important to us.’’
Picking up their yacht in Mallorca, the couple planned to follow the trade winds and warm weather to the Caribbean, although they only had a rough idea of their route when they set out. Having taken a crash course in sailing, courtesy of Google and Youtube, they were well aware they’d thrown themselves in the deep end.
Fortunately, Rohan proved a natural sailor when they first took ‘‘Inspire’’ out for a spin.
‘‘We somehow managed to get [the yacht] out of the marina without crashing her, then headed into a wide open space to try a few things out. Seeing the sail go up for the first time was magical,’’ Abby says.
She admits her stress levels soared when their return to the marina proved trickier than expected and she found herself dashing about trying to figure out how the easy and mooring lines worked.
‘‘After we got Inspire secured, I was shaking. But also so happy. We both couldn’t wait to take Inspire out again and set off on our journey.’’
Rohan’s parents, sister and her partner joined them for the first leg of the journey, which took them to Ibiza, Santa Pola, Gibraltar and Portugal. Aside from receiving a few tears in the main sail after reefing too late at one point, it was pretty much plain sailing. While it took them a few weeks to get used to the lack of internet, ‘‘showering’’ in the sea, hand-washing their clothes and using just two sheets of toilet paper at a time, Abby says they soon got into the rhythm of the simpler lifestyle.
‘‘The beauty of living on the water and having a moving house is incredible,’’ she says. ‘‘Sailing the world, you get to see the place from a whole other perspective. If you get bored with one destination, you just pick up the anchor and head for the next.’’
They spent a month-and-half in Portugal, seeing the sights while they waited for the ‘‘crew’’ for the next leg of the journey to arrive: Abby’s brother, Rohan’s best mate and the best mate’s partner. A lastminute decision to sail down the coast of Morocco brought mixed blessings: they were captivated by the beauty of the coastline but uneasy about the large number of ‘‘unmarked, scary-looking boats’’.
Their adventure came close to capsizing one night when, sailing through thick fog, Rohan noticed a flicker of light on their port side and ran to the helm to investigate. Seeing they were about to plough into a big rusty fishing boat, he jammed Inspire into reverse, narrowly preventing them seriously damaging, if not losing, their yacht.
A blissful three weeks cruising around the Canary Islands calmed their nerves ahead of the ‘‘big crossing’’ from Cape Verde to Barbados, a distance of 900 nautical miles. Aside from a few rain storms with strong winds and some largish swells, they were blessed with blue skies most days.
Barbados turned out to be their favourite destination, perhaps in part because it greeted them with turtles after 15-and-a-half days at sea.
That and the fact they soon discovered the Mt Gay rum distillery and New Zealand-made Tiki pies on store shelves.
‘‘Barbados is everything and more. The people are very friendly, the scenery is picturesque, it’s easy and cheap to explore the island and the water is stunning,’’ Abby says.
The sailing proved challenging at times, but they figured things out through trial, error and perseverance.
‘‘Sailing is one of those sports where you are always learning, so we just gave everything a go and, if we did things wrong, people would let us know or we learnt from our mistakes,’’ Abby says.
The scariest leg was a night sail between Barbados and St Lucia, when they were buffeted by 30-knot winds and three-metre swells which created a resounding boom when the waves broke under the deck.
‘‘I hid downstairs half the night and we both had no sleep,’’ Abby says.
While nerve-racking, they arrived in St Lucia four hours ahead of schedule, with a greater understanding of what both they and Inspire could weather.
They spent four weeks in the Caribbean, enjoying a lifestyle that was at once luxurious – they spent their days indulging their inner water babies and discovering the hidden corners and cultures of the islands they visited – and down-toearth.
‘‘When you are sailing you are always on a budget so you get to experience more of the everyday life of the places you are visiting.’’
Now back in New Zealand, they are working hard to save for their next sailing adventure, which will take them from the British Virgin Islands to Aotearoa via the Panama Canal and Pacific Islands. Perhaps unsurprisingly for a pair who seem to have sea water in their veins, they have decided that sailing is the way to travel.
‘‘The sense of pride that comes from knowing that you have sailed there makes the country more enjoyable.
‘‘Also you get to learn more about the culture of each country because you have to live and shop like they do. I love it because you meet so many incredible people.’’
"The beauty of living on the water and having a moving house is incredible."
Abby Sanford