Old Sea Dog
CRUISING COMMUNITY
Adventures of an Old Seadog – Facebook and Youtube star – Barry Perrins has ‘struck lucky’ despite his circumnavigation being on hold in New Zealand.
The solo sailor left Plymouth in 2016 aboard his 36ft Van der Stadt sloop White Shadow determined to sail around the world. For the past year, he has been unable to leave New Zealand, as other countries are closed due to COVID-19 and the cyclone season. But Perrins, who is at Riverside Drive Marina, Whangarei, said: ‘I’ve struck lucky and ended up in a Covid-free country. It is at least possible to lead a normal life here. As a matter of interest, the marina used to be called Ormes boat yard, it is the place where Eric Hiscock built Wanderer 5 and later died. The manager’s father knew the Hiscocks well and he can remember them from his childhood in the yard.’
Former Plymouth lifeboatman Perrins sprang into action when a nearby boat caught fire with an elderly couple onboard, helping the woman to escape out of a forward hatch. He added: ‘It was a team effort with the other cruisers but I found that my experience in first aid helped with the 80-year-old casualty as we waited an hour for the ambulance. He’d suffered burns to the hands and was in shock.
‘He has now almost recovered.’