She Learned to Skipper a 60-Year-Old Boat | Bay of Islands NZ

Six years ago Erin knew nothing about boats. Now she's the only person Jonny fully trusts to skipper The Rock without him on board in the Bay of Islands. Erin came to The Rock with “Below Deck” as her concept, expecting to make beds and wash dishes. Six seasons later, she's the skipper, the one who reads the weather, feels the tides, and knows every quirk of a 60-year-old steel car ferry that doesn't have the tech modern boats lean on. In this conversation, Jonny sits down with Erin to talk about the trip where a hydraulic hose blew on the anchor drum with guests still aboard, the moment she realised she could actually do this job, and the guest memory that still gets her right in her heart, a couple who'd never swum in the ocean before, working up the nerve to jump in. Erin also shares the walk in Paihia most visitors never hear about: a track up School Road where you can catch glow worms after dark. This is a Bay of Islands story about what it takes to run an overnight cruise the old-fashioned way. Hands-on, no autopilot, and worth every bit of the learning curve. Book your Rock experience: www.rocktheboat.co.nz Save 20% when you book direct — use code BOOKDIRECT20 #BayOfIslands #RockTheBoatNZ #NewZealandTravel #OvernightCruiseNZ #ThingsToDoBayOfIslands #NorthlandNZ #NZTravel #BoatLifeNZ CHAPTERS 00:00 Six Years, One Skipper's Ticket 01:00 Stepping On Not Knowing a Single Thing 03:00 The Moment She Knew She Could Do This 05:00 The Anchor Wouldn't Come Up 07:00 What This Old Girl Asks That New Boats Don't 09:00 The Guest Moment That Still Gets Her 12:00 Where Erin Goes When She's Off the Boat 13:00 The Bay of Islands Secret That's Not on Any List 15:00 Why Six Seasons and Counting 16:00 Watching Nervous Guests Turn Into Kayakers 19:00 Handing the Wheel Back