ALEX STONE

is a Waiheke Island-based writer, inventor, artist and poet from New Zealand. As a competitive sailor in trapeze dinghies, he has on three occasions placed in the top 10 in the Fireball world championships. He has crossed oceans, and cruised extensively in the Hauraki Gulf and the North Island’s east coast on fast catamarans. With his wife Lesley, he now owns a 12m Schionning-design bridgedeck catamaran. He has written extensively on the country’s export industries, including boat building, forestry, and horticulture, as well as the tourism industry. www.alexstonethinkingstrings.com/