Marlborough Express - Weekend Express
Dropping it all for the trip of a lifetime
‘‘It's not about the money ... it's about life and family and living and love.’’
Four years ago, Glenn Robertson was clinging to life after suffering a sudden brain haemorrhage, now he is set to embark on a ‘‘trip of a lifetime’’ with his family.
The Blenheim family leave for Europe on Sunday, after selling their house and cars to begin their ocean adventure in Malta, where a 15-metre yacht awaits them.
Their voyage will take them around Europe to West Africa, through the Carribean, then along the Panama Canal and on to the Pacific Islands before coming back to NZ around December next year.
When Glenn proposed the plan to his family, they took a bit of convincing, but his wife Nicky and daughters Caitlyn,17, and Amelia,13, eventually warmed up to the idea.
‘‘Last year at a yacht race, I went as road crew and one of the guys on another boat from Auckland told me what he was doing with his family, going sailing overseas,’’ Glenn said.
He said he would ‘‘love to’’ do it with his own family, but couldn’t because of his health condition.
‘‘I came back home, we were sitting around the table and just put it out there and said ‘what do you think of this?’
‘‘Because if no one wants to do it, there was no point. So I put it to them and there were some mixed reactions,’’ Glenn said.
From a ‘‘personal perspective’’, Glenn was finding life ‘‘frustrating’’ as he couldn’t go back to the work he loved as a project manager for a lines company.
‘‘I’ve been solely relying on Nicky and to me, it’s not about the money anymore; it’s about life and family and living and love.
‘‘Life is tough and I’ve put these guys through hell for a couple of years looking after me,’’ Glenn said.
Glenn’s wife Nicky wasn’t entirely convinced by his plan at first.
‘‘My reaction was crazy?’’’ she said.
‘‘I suppose I was thinking, I’ve got a secure job [as a pharmacy technician], the kids are in their last year and first year of college.
‘‘We’ve got a beautiful house ... we’ve got everything that we have strived for over the years,’’ Nicky said.
However, the more the family ‘Are you talked about it, the more she warmed to the idea.
‘‘All four of us had input. We weren’t going to do it if we weren’t all on board with it. We also needed to talk to family, see what they thought of it, talk to friends, because we’re going to miss them a lot.
The kids were also divided on the issue at the beginning, both of whom would have to do distance learning online.
Youngest daughter Amelia was the first in the family to initially say no.
‘‘At the start I had mixed feelings about it. As soon as Dad said it, I said ‘no, not for me, I don’t want to leave home, leave the normal’.
‘‘But things happened at school with friendship issues and I started getting my head around the idea. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity so I was all for it in the end,’’ Amelia said.
It was a completely different case for eldest daughter Caitlyn, who jumped at the idea of sailing around the world.
‘‘I was like, ‘let’s just do it’. I think it was just the adventure. It’s something different and I was also going to leave home soon.
‘‘I think because I’m in my last year of college. Next year I can always go off and do my own thing. Or if I find something that I really like, I can stay overseas.
‘‘I’ve always wanted to go travelling, so I didn’t mind if it was with my family or not. They’re not too bad,’’ Caitlyn said.
The Robertson’s journey can be followed on Facebook at Sailing Ocean Alley and on their Instagram at @sailoceanalley.