Oops, sorry, I forgot to mention that I'd blogged.
For those who enjoy videos, Rob Lovelace took one recently: I hadn't realised that he was, assuming he was taking some stills, and I was even more stunned to hear that it was out 'on public release'. Probably just as well I didn't know because I get horribly self conscious when people start filming me.
Anyway, Rob deserves to be much better known and is an amazing sailor. He decided he'd fancy trying this boating lark several years ago and bought a little Aussie boat, a Top Hat 25, thinking it might be nice to sail to Indonesia. He then proceeded to sail anti-clockwise around Australia. He told me that for a one-week period, coming down the W coast, I think it was, he couldn't even brew a cup of coffee! This is probably the reason why he is now sailing a Westsail 28. To be honest, I hadn't heard of these boats before, but it's a small (and it has to be said, less tubby) sister of the much better-known Westsail 32. Last year he sailed Sans Pareil to Tasmania, and while a very well-known sailor and writer was waiting for a 'weather window' aboard a 40ft, steel yacht, Rob had visited Port Davey, gone up Mt Aubrey and miles along a tramping track in his jandals (flip flops) and turned the corner to explore Tasmania's west coast, which he thought was quite wonderful. From Tasmania he sailed to Nelson and thence to Whangarei, where I met him. He is quiet, down-to-earth and insists that he is just a novice sailor.
To be honest, I was so surprised at him that I quite forgot to get his email address. However, he does these videos regularly, I'm told, so I can follow him this way and the good news is that he's coming back to NZ next year. After which he's heading for Indonesia. He says.
