They may have been chased across the Tasman to southern New Zealand by stormy weather, but a seafaring couple is finding the calm waters of Otago Harbour a good spot for a quick break from their life of cruising.
Jon and Barbara Tucker are spending the week in Dunedin, arriving here after a hasty change of plans brought on by recent storms that battered Australia's eastern seaboard.
The couple, originally from Nelson, have been cruising the Pacific area for more than 40 years, raising five sons, who spent much of their youth on board, along the way.
The Tuckers built the ketch New Zealand Maid in Christchurch in the early 1970s, and when not sailing have worked as secondary school teachers, builders and other jobs to keep them afloat.
Their children are now grown and have moved on. The youngest spent half of his school years learning by correspondence on board.
Mrs Tucker said the couple ended up in Dunedin after heading across the Tasman towards Nelson ahead of the storms that hit Australia earlier this month.
"We ended up out in the Tasman with absolutely no wind, watching our diesel, a bit concerned we might get hit by [the storms].
"We motored for days.
"So we looked at the charts and decided coming into Bluff was a good idea, because it was two days quicker.''
Mr Tucker said the pair arrived in Bluff just as a storm warning was issued for the Puyseger area, at the bottom of the South Island.
From there they sailed north to Dunedin on their way to Nelson.
"It's been great.''
The boat harbour was in a good location near the city, and people at the Otago Yacht Club were "really friendly''.
"Actually, we're really enjoying Dunedin,'' Mrs Tucker said.
The couple funded their sailing lifestyle by living frugally, and saving money they had earned from teaching and building.
"We have simple pleasures and when we're in port we work hard,'' Mrs Tucker said.
Mr Tucker also wrote books.
"A lot of yachties that enjoy cruising are the ones that have to work hard and save for it,'' Mrs Tucker said.
On raising a family at sea, the couple said it was a good way for a family to stay connected.
Even their then 10-year-old son had to keep watch.
"They have to have responsibilities; we've got to trust them, and they've got to trust us,'' Mr Tucker said.
Mrs Tucker said she enjoyed teaching her children and bringing them up on the ketch.
"It's not a doddle, but it's like a lot of things in life - the more effort you put into something the more you get out of it.''
Their sons must have felt the same way, as a period of less than a year in the 1990s living in a house in Golden Bay was a time they "didn't feel like a family'', Mr Tucker said.
"We had a vote at the end and all seven of us voted to move back on the boat and go cruising again.''
The couple now have their own house on Bruny Island, off Tasmania, a base for their journeys.
