Death knell for the sock

IF THERE is a product in the world, at some stage a New Zealander will have tried to make it out of wool – it is our national material.

So far this has been successful with jerseys, face masks and, lately, even suitcases – and unsuccessful with hamburgers.

You might be surprised that until 2013 nobody in the world had ever successfully made shoes entirely out of wool. Despite wool’s wonderful qualities, a woollen fabric strong enough for shoes had never been invented.

Three Over Seven of Wellington has invented the world’s first woollen running shoes and casual shoes.

Founders Tim Brown and Michael Wilson (both former All Whites) and Brown’s brother, Paul, were convinced shoes could be made from wool – if only a strong enough fabric could be made. Reading an Idealog magazine they became aware of research and development

THE OCEAN is in the blood. My father, grandfather and great grandfather were all merchant seamen. Going to sea myself never really seemed like a decision, it was just a natural path for me.

I grew up in Newcastle, in New South Wales. My dad was at sea for nine months of the year. That was our normal.

I remember going to pick dad up off a ship one time when I was quite small. We all got in a launch and went out to his ship to collect him.

That was in the days before health and safety.

The sea has always been a part of my life. Growing up I was always on the water – in a canoe, a sailboat or just hanging about on a lilo.

One year some friends and I found a moth sailboat in one of their garages and we spent all our holidays sailing it on Lake Macquarie. That was a good summer.

I first went to sea at 16 as a ‘‘Christmas tripper’’ – a trainee cadet. I spent six weeks sailing around the Australian coast in a container ship. At 19 I went to sea fulltime. I loved it. I was at home on the sea. Life on the ocean just made sense to me.

I’ve never been intimidated by the sea but I do remember, during one of my first trips, waking up on board in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight and realising how small and insignificant we are. It was an amazing insight.

I’ve been with the Interislander for three years now. I spend one week living on the ship doing 12-hour shifts. The rest of the time I live with my partner in Christchurch.

I have three grown children. I usually worked one week on and one week off. I was able to spend a lot of time with them – more than most 9-5 dads.

I’ve seen some rough oceans in my time. The roughest was in the

Wool wicks away moisture, is antibacterial so doesn’t smell, regulates temperature well, and is comfy and sustainable.