John Daubeny, a British national, starting sailing as a young child and pursued this passion into his mid-twenties when he did a solo circumnavigation around the globe. Having stopped in New Zealand in route, he decided to settle in Auckland at the conclusion of his four-year journey.
Kia Koropp, a Puerto Rican born American expat, sailed into New Zealand at the end of a four-year backpacking tour of Africa and the South Pacific and decided to base herself in Auckland at the conclusion of that experience.
The two met on a kitesurfing holiday in the Cook Islands in late 2010 and by early 2011 Atea was purchased and the two set sail into what has become a ten year cruising lifestyle. By the end of their first season, their son Braca was born and their daughter, Ayla, joined as crew two years later. As a family, they have now crossed three oceans, sailed 40,000 miles and are still going.
This blog is an account of their experiences as cruisers who have taken the journey from solo-sailor to social sailor to sailing with partners to sailing with kids. This is not a detailed descriptive guide or instruction manual. These are stories that we hope will inspire those seeking to travel about the beauty of earth, of culture, of people and of nature. And how fun life is when sailing downwind in the sun.
Atea 