Ocean ties

Pirates of the Red Sea, dangerous weapons, gale force winds and nasty illnesses are among threats sailors Deb and Simon Meech faced when circumnavigating the globe.

Along with their young children, Sam and Molly, then six and four years old, and with navigational courses under their belts, the couple made the decision to leave the comforts of land and set sail in their yacht, Tradition.

They now call Whangaparaoa home but from 1997 to 2002, life consisted of travelling from one exotic location to the next.
It was incredibly rewarding, Deb remembers, and gave her and Simon a close bond with the children, now 24 and 22 years old.
But it did come with challenges.

“There was the stress of the Red Sea, concerns about pirates and lots of guns around,” she recalls. “We were worried about the safety of the kids. We had one birthday party in Egypt in the middle of nowhere. The army troops stationed there came on to the boat to join in and we had to give them a Mars bar to go away.

“But the children had great parties where all the boat families came and we played games, listened to music together and shared all the food we had.”

Throughout their time on water, the family travelled to the Pacific Islands and across the Indian Ocean from Australia to Indonesia. They sailed the Red Sea to Europe and back across the Atlantic Ocean through the Panama Canal.

Deb and Simon took turns with three-hour watches day and night. When Simon contracted dengue fever in Trinidad, Deb and the children sailed while he slept.

Sam and Molly’s ocean ties still run strong. After returning to New Zealand, they both took up sailing as a sport and are now professionals, travelling across the world to compete.

Sam races in the laser class, a solo category, while Molly paired up with Alex Maloney in 2011 in a women’s double-handed skiff, or 49erFX.

Winning the first women’s 49erFX regatta in Melbourne in 2012 and being ranked number one in the world in 2013 are career highlights for Molly.
Sam lists winning the ISAF Youth Worlds in 2009 as his proudest moment on the water and says it’s nice having a sister who shares
the sport.

“It was fantastic until Molly started getting better results than me! It’s always nice to have family close, especially when we are away from home,” he says.

He treasures memories on the water as a youngster, in particular sailing through the French canals.

“It probably wasn’t my parent’s favourite memory as taking the mast down and navigating the shallow waters would’ve been stressful.”

Molly says life on the water as a child enabled her to see the world in a way most people would never experience.

“When we were doing an ocean crossing we would try and get as much correspondence school work done as possible so that when we finally got to land we could explore,” she says. “I remember swimming, snorkelling and a lot of walking. It was great to grow up with such a tight family.”

Deb and Simon sold Tradition upon returning to New Zealand and have purchased a new boat which they both hope to sail off
in soon.

The ocean is calling once again.