I ended up leaving New Zealand, Eastbound across the Pacific Ocean , bound for Moruroa. This small atoll in French Polynesia lies almost in the middle of the Pacific. It’s where the French government have tested a series of nuclear devices over the years. (because they lost Algeria and would never get away with that behaviour next to Germany in Europe) The bit they don’t tell you is that because only coconuts and fish and beaches were there, Moruroa was never settled. Rather, by tradition, used as a staging post for young shipbuilders to test their skills, and craftsmanship by sailing the family there for a few months before returning to Tahiti.
I was in the yacht “Te Kaitoa” (the brave warrior). A 42’ (15m) concrete sloop. We were a crew of 6, all had never met before, and we joined some 25 other yachts from all over New Zealand who sailed 3000 miles to join an international peace flotilla maybe double that size. The wave of support throughout New Zealand, from all walks of life, was phenomenal. It was like the whole country was on those boats. Anyway to cut a long story short, Jaques Chirac the French president had to stop 2 of his six planned tests because everyone (European middle classes) stopped buying French wine and the winegrowers put enough pressure on him to stop.
And I discovered sailing! I realised you could turn the motor off, set your sails, or wings, and harness the power of the elements to propel and manouver yourself across the water. You could learn the necessary skills yourself, you didn’t need a boat owner (economies of scale), and you could be independent.
With no skills and no money my choices upon returning to NZ were either to become an alien (beaurocratic not extra terrestrial) or leave before the visa ran out. I remember at one point having no money in my wallet and just a kilo of oats and some milk powder looking for the next job not sure where it would be.
I tried to rejoin Acoriano with no luck. The deal was I couldn’t leave NZ on the boat I had arrived in. So the old sea captains network bailed me out, with literally only hours left on the visa found me passage on a ship bound for Australia, the largest island on the planet. I accepted help from the elders.What a tale to tell! Thankyou from the depths of my me, for you kept the dream alive.