SAILING while Paradise burns - Ep 50

A huge thank you to those who help keep our boat afloat by supporting our creative process via Patreon. You can be part of the crew for less than the price of a coffee. https://www.patreon.com/CruisingKiwis Sailing while paradise burns On February 20th 2016 Fiji was hit by Cyclone Winston. This was a category five cyclone with wind speeds up to 280kmh (175mph). Winston was the strongest tropical cyclone to ever hit the South Pacific basin with devastating effects. Amazingly only 44 people lost their life. We are in Delaconi village, the gateway to the beautiful bay of islands, this is the first time on our trip through the east of Fiji that we have seen the damage that Winston wrought. We are very proud that the New Zealand government and her Navy had come to the aid of the people who live here. We are also blown away by the beauty of The Bay of Islands and its turquoise water ways. And to top it all off, before we leave the incredible Lau group, we are having a bonfire with friends. A lovely way to finish off our journey through the east of Fiji. Music Cricket Farm – Bending Spoons David Mumford – Be back soon Olympus – Epic and dramatic trailer music Who are we? In 1997, after a disastrous Olympic rowing campaign, Rob decided to row a seven-metre plywood boat, 2500 miles from Tenerife in the Canary Islands to Barbados in the Caribbean. It took 6 weeks and he and his rowing partner, Phil Stubbs, won the inaugural Atlantic Rowing Race. Skip forward to 2014, we invested in Javelot a 43 ft Fountaine Pajot catamaran. Armed only with Robert's 3 years of racing P class yachts from the age of 11 to 13, and Rachel's non existent sailing knowledge, we set off to learn the ropes of ocean sailing. We broke stuff, replaced stuff and got to know our boat before heading offshore with our three children, Finn 17, Declan 15 and Ivan 12, in tow. Through trial and error, we have become confident wayfarers, kind of. Our plan? To sail around the world, meet the locals and record our adventures. Part of the journey will be retracing Rob’s eldest brother Kerry’s travels at sea. Using Kerry’s original letters from the 1970’s we will re trace his movements from Australia through Indonesia and South East Asia to Cambodia where Kerry’s life was cut short after straying into Cambodian waters in 1978. Kerry and two friends were attacked by a Khmer Rouge gun boat, captured, tortured and executed. ***** Find us on Facebook – The Cruising Kiwis Instagram – @thecruisingkiwis @declan_hamill @finn_hamill Never stop wandering, never stop wondering. #TheCruisingKiwis