‘‘A very, very long away,’’ says Cate Herlihy from her dairy farm Greenbank Pastoral in Patearoa on a cold day last week.
Mrs Herlihy, her husband Jimmy and their daughters Rosa, 14, and Josie, 13, sailed their 14m catamaran Counting Stars in Tonga and Fiji for two months, which she described as ‘‘a great family adventure’’.
The family returned home last month.
Mr Herlihy is a fifth-generation farmer on the Maniototo and his passion for sailing began while working as a deckhand on superyachts in the United States in his 20s.
The Herlihys bought a quarter share in the catamaran in 2020. Under the agreement, the four owners got to use the vessel for three consecutive months each year.
‘‘Jimmy hates winter so it is the perfect time to get away,’’ Mrs Herlihy said.
The syndicate members did not know each other before entering the agreement.
‘‘The syndicate has been awesome, the members have been great and I think it has been good we are not friends and it is run like a business,’’ she said.
After buying the catamaran, Covid-19 restrictions dictated it could only be sailed in New Zealand waters. Consequently, the owners agreed to use the catamaran for 10 days in a 40-day period.
The family sailed the vessel in the Hauraki Gulf and the Bay of Islands for three stints each in the summers of 2021 and 2022 which was a good time to learn and get to know the boat.
When the restrictions were lifted, Mr Herlihy and Rosa and a crew including a skipper and friends sailed to Fiji in May last year.
Mrs Herlihy and Josie flew to Fiji to join them and the crew flew back to New Zealand and the Herlihy family sailed in Fiji.
The journey included a two-day stop at Minerva Reefs, a group of two submerged atolls, where they could safely wait for unfavourable sailing conditions to pass.
‘‘It is awesome protection from bad weather and it is stunning — the sea life in there is amazing,’’ Mrs Herlihy said.
Mrs Herlihy and Josie met them in Tonga and the family began sailing by themselves.
An original plan to sail to Tongan island group Vava'u was shelved so they could get to Fiji to replace a propeller which had fallen off Counting Stars four hours out of Whangarei.
A faulty outboard motor on a dinghy also needed repairing.
The journey between Tonga and Fiji took more than three days. ‘‘That was our first offshore sailing as a family and it was a little bit nerve-racking but it was amazing. We had incredible winds and we sailed the whole way,’’ she said.
‘‘It was pitch black so it is a pretty crazy feeling sailing and you can’t see a thing,’’ she said.
During the day, fish were caught by trawling between anchorages.
The sound of fishing line rapidly being pulled from a reel would spark a family member to yell ‘‘fish on’’ so sails could be lowered to haul it in.
Fish species caught included mackerel and a lot of yellowfin tuna.
‘‘You can do tuna five ways for breakfast, lunch and dinner.’’
On the first trip they caught a few mahi mahi and a marlin.
A highlight on the latest trip was a break in the trade winds allowing them to sail to the Kadavu Islands in Fiji — ‘‘that was beautiful and had amazing diving.’’
The plan was to sell their Leopard 46 catamaran this year.
‘‘We’ve had an awesome time on it but it is time for a change.’’
The change could include making a bucket list entry of buying another boat and sailing to the Mediterranean Sea.
‘‘We’ll see. Watch this space.’’
Rosa said highlights on the latest trip included catching a 70kg yellowfin tuna and swimming with manta rays in Fiji.
‘‘I loved it, it was an amazing experience.’’
