Life at sea

When Tara Cooney and partner Jeff decided to buy a yacht instead of a house, they didn’t actually know anything about sailing – nor did they have the funds for their floating abode. But that wasn’t going to stop the determined couple from achieving their dream lifestyle, and rolling up their sleeves to learn the ways of the waves has been half the fun.

WORDS TARA COONEY

Explorer Sir Frances Drake once said, “It is not that life ashore is distasteful to me. But life at sea is better.” Jeff and I knew living on a boat would be a totally different lifestyle and we were ready for a new adventure.

We met while studying and found we had a mutual love of the outdoors, wildlife and the ocean. Having graduated with a teaching degree and creative master’s degree respectively, we couldn’t afford to buy a house and the rent prices were crazy. So we convinced my parents to loan us $40K to buy our first yacht (us promising an interest rate higher than the bank made that more attractive!). I remember reassuring each other, “At least we won’t die wondering what it would’ve been like!”

It all happened pretty quickly, but not without some stress – neither of us knew anything about yachts but we knew we wanted to learn to sail and have more freedom to travel. In 2017 we sold (almost) everything we owned, called in some great boating advice, and arrived at Mana Marina in Wellington for the boat survey and purchase. There we met an incredible sailing community who showed us the ropes, while we lived aboard at the marina.

“Trust your boat, Tara, she’ll take care of you” was the best advice I got — from John, an old salt who’d sailed here from England. I held onto that mantra and we soon found ourselves sailing Cook Strait to explore the incredible cruising grounds of Marlborough Sounds. Queen Charlotte Sound is one of our favourite destinations — there we can tuck into little bays close enough to nearly touch the native bush, and the bird song is loud and beautiful.

Our current yacht, NØRD, is a 34ft Danish-designed and built 1977 Kaskelot. She’s a relatively roomy canoe-stern boat with V-berth sleeping and well-designed features. Between us, Jeff and I cover a lot of practical skills required for keeping a boat well maintained. We’re happy to get our hands dirty and have learned how to do most of the work ourselves, which keeps costs down.

Recently I felt I’d become a real sailor while helming my first night shift alone at 3am, 10 nautical miles off the notorious Wairarapa coast. We embarked on a five-day passage from Mana to Tauranga earlier this year, as part of our "sailing sabbatical", to gain valuable experience before we take on a Pacific adventure. Being able to cope in big seas and tricky wind conditions proved to us just how much we’ve learnt and how capable we’ve become, especially when things are difficult and uncomfortable.

I’ve had so many “Oh my God, this is amazing!” moments while sailing. Some days we anchor in an idyllic bay on a remote island with crystal clear water and white sand. We rise with the sun, take a morning dip and then enjoy a slow morning coffee and breakfast. If there’s a bush walk, we head ashore to stretch our legs and take in the sights from nikaulined ridges. Later, we paddleboard along nooks and crannies in the coastline. Below us there are fish to catch, ethereal worlds of swaying seaweed, and stingray sunbathing in the shallows. For dinner we maybe cook fresh snapper on our barbecue and watch the sun set in a fiery glow, gin and tonic in hand!

Yet, I’m the first to admit that sometimes living on a boat can really suck. This winter we had weeks of non-stop rain and gale wind warnings. We were constantly shifting from one side of Waiheke to the other to find the most protected anchorage. I certainly didn’t enjoy being awake all night anxiously checking we weren’t dragging, our yacht rolling from side to side in a swell that just wouldn’t stop. Some wet and wild days made it too unpleasant to get ashore and I felt totally frustrated by the bad weather. There’s a lot to enjoy about being self-sufficient at sea. “We’re making 10 amps!” is something I never thought I’d be excited about but it makes sense now that we’re dependent on producing our own electricity from solar panels and a wind generator. Seeing our batteries fully charge while the sun’s cranking (and plugging in my laptop to take advantage) makes me smile. So too does catching fresh rainwater for drinking using our boom tent, and feeling the wind fill the sails.

Currently we’re living and working from a land base at Mount Maunganui so we can hang out with close family for a while. We’re looking forward to exploring Tūhua, an incredible obsidian motu with diving and fishing right on our doorstep. Now that we’ve experienced the reality of living aboard, learning to sail, figuring out boating systems and navigating by chart, I don’t have to wonder anymore whether we would’ve enjoyed a salty lifestyle – it turns out we love it!

SALTWATERJOURNAL.LIFE

STEPS TO BUYING A SAILING BOAT

1. Join a local sailing club. 2. Offer to crew and get some sailing experience. 3. Do a Coastguard boating course. 4. Create a boat/life budget and include boat maintenance expenses. 5. 5. Check out Saltwater Journal for sailing and boat buying advice.

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