The People

Rob hails from the small town of Tirau hidden in the Rural Waikato of New Zealand. For the past three years Rob has been working in finfish aquaculture research for NIWA. Rob enjoys many outdoor activities including biking and especially surfing.

Anna grew up in Tasmania but has been living as a kiwi for the past thirteen years. Anna is currently taking a break from adventure racing which she has been doing for the past three years, racing all over the world with the New Zealand team Orion Health. For the past three years she has also been working in Paua Aquaculture for OceaNZ Blue in New Zealand.

The Journey

From Flying Fish Point (Innisfail) they will sail south with their first port of call being Mourilyn Harbour. They then aim to sail to the tropical Dunk Island which is the largest member of the Family Island Group and has beautiful white beaches, coral reef and rainforest. The next destination is Hinchinbrook Island, a very large island containing many inlets, mangroves and crocodiles. The Palm Islands are next on the route south where they hope to volunteer at the Orpheus Island Marine Research Station, renowned for its research into Giant Clams. You can follow their progress on the Google Earth map on this sight.

The Boat

The yacht Volante and her small but sturdy dinghy Joy are the boats of choice for this adventure. Volante is of a Wharram Tiki 26 design. She is designed by James Wharram who was inspired by traditional Polynesian-style catamarans. The Tiki 26 is small enough to be trailerable but large enough to be ocean-going. In fact a smaller version of this design, the Tiki 21, has even sailed around the world.