We returned to Ātea in late 2015 for a refit in a Thai shipyard and frantic preparations for a voyage out into the Indian Ocean at the beginning of the year. Unfortunately, our son was diagnosed with T1 diabetes a the start of our journey and we had to pull back on the cruising year for medical reasons. After a traumatic period in Thai hospitals and a two month repatriation to New Zealand, we returned to the boat in June 2016 for our third attempt at the Indian Ocean. The season that followed was a spectacular success – out of season and unplanned – and a fantastic reminder that life’s unexpected paths can sometimes be the most rewarding. We were able to experience the hospitality of Sumatra, the comedy of Cocos Keeling, the breathtaking isolation and wildlife of Chagos, the underwater beauty of the Maldives and the colour and energy of India. It was truly a year where a terrible low was followed by a succession of amazing highs.
#untethered
Atea 