Bay Harbour: March 31, 2021

Wednesday March 31 2021 Bay Harbour News
Latest Canterbury news at starnews.co.nz
NEWS 7
Life on the ocean wave suspended
• By Samantha Mythen
HELEN SHREWSBURY lives
by the motto: ‘To discover new
lands, you must first lose sight of
the shore.’
“You have to take the risk to
have the adventure,” she said.
A year ago, Lyttelton residents
Shrewsbury and her husband
Stephen Prendergast, flew to
England where they brought
a yacht with the intention to
explore the world on a two-year
adventure leading them back
home again.
Unfortunately, Covid-19 took
the wind from their sails and
they are staying with Shrewsbury’s
sister in the United Kingdom.
Their first stop, France, is
not allowing people from the UK
into the country.
The idea for the grand adventure
was a collaboration between
the couple.
“I always had wanted to explore
the South Pacific. Prendergast
said he wanted to sail in the
Mediterranean,” she said.
“The idea to buy a boat in the
UK and then sail through those
places back to New Zealand,
grew and morphed quickly from
there.”
Both in their 50s, they decided
to sell up and make their dreams
a reality.
“I want to die with memories,
not dreams,” Shrewsbury said.
Cerulean, the boat they purchased
once they arrived in the
UK, is a 43ft MkIII Sea Stream,
designed specifically for blue
water – long distance -– sailing.
At first sight, they fell in love
with the design of it.
The boat was originally customised
by former BBC radio and
television reporter Peter Snow.
As a tall man, the boat was
designed with 6.7ft of headroom
– also perfect for Shrewsbury
and Prendergast who are 6ft and
over. Shrewsbury is in touch
with Snow today. The boat
was named after Snow and his
wife’s love of Lake Cerulean in
Canada.
The rough plan was to sail
around France, Spain and Portugal,
across the Atlantic, down to
the Caribbean, through Panama
to the Galapogas Islands, then
to explore around Tahiti and Fiji
and land on Kiwi shores.
“Unfortunately 2020 was not
the best time to do it but we’ve
just got to roll with the punches.”
The sailing couple have not
wasted their time though. In
May, they sailed around the
British Isles.
“Luckily, we had few disagreements
and really enjoyed each
other’s company. It was a good
tester for how we could cope,”
Shrewsbury said.
“It was wonderful sailing as
it was all new to us both. It was
also challenging with the new
currents and tides and all the
traffic to be aware of . . . there are
huge wind farms, navy ships and
we even saw a submarine.”
“Nothing compares to sailing
in New Zealand though.”
In October, they removed their
boat from the water and have
began to prepare it for when they
can depart.
The sailing dream has been a
lifetime in the making; boating
and the ocean being the great
passion of Shrewsbury’s life.
Shrewsbury was born in
Cambridge, England, “about the
furthest you can get from the
sea,” she said.
In spite of being surrounded
by rolling hills instead of crashing
waves, Shrewsbury started
sailing at the age of three and
sailed almost every weekend
during her childhood.
It was a family affair.
Sailing was something that her
father had always wanted to try,
and he rallied together his wife
ADVENTURE:
Helen
Shrewsbury
and Stephen
Prendergast
hope to sail
from the UK
to Lyttelton
when borders
around the
world reopen.
and four daughters.
Her father believed “a family
that plays together stays together.”
Their weekends and holidays
were spent out in the ocean
where the family competed both
with each other and against each
other.
Said Shrewsbury: “I’ve been
sailing all my life.
“The connection you have and
the memories you create with
your family is something I feel
incredibly lucky to have shared.
We always have something to
agree on or talk about.”
While in Perth in 1987, watching
the America’s Cup, Shrewsbury
met her first husband, who
was a Kiwi.
At the end of the 1990s,
Shrewsbury and her family, including
her two young children,
settled in Lyttelton.
Prior to the move, Shrewsbury
had visited Lyttelton to see a
friend. As soon as she walked
down the main street, she knew
she wanted to make it her home.
“I felt a connection with the
place with has never ended.
There is a special vibe there
within the community,” she said.
Shrewsbury brought up her
family in the port and lived there
for the next 20 years.
She had numerous sailing adventures
during this time, joining
the Naval Point Yacht Club
and racing a 22ft trailer-sailer
every weekend.
It was the lifestyle and the sailing
environment which fuelled
Shrewsbury’s sailing passion.
“I love the challenge of sailing
and the freedom I feel when I am
on the water,” she said.
“I can let go of any pressure or
any stress. I feel myself relax.”
Lyttelton Harbour is a special
place for Shrewsbury. Almost
every time she went out she saw
dolphins.
After her first marriage split
up, Shrewsbury decided a change
was needed and she wanted to
discover new seas.
“I spent a lot of time with
my girlfriends sailing around
the fantastic bays of the Banks
Peninsula but I really wanted to
go somewhere different, where
I could continue to enjoy the
beauty New Zealand has to
offer,” she said.
“I had to follow my dreams.”
She moved her New Zealand-designed
Whiting 29 boat
to Auckland and then two years
later, she met Prendergast.
Prendergast had only been
sailing once before, but Shrewsbury
showed him the ropes. As
the lead sailor, Shrewsbury has
found it frustrating how she is
treated as a woman.
“It is unusual for the woman to
be a sailor where the man isn’t,”
she said.
“Lots of people, particularly
in the UK, find it difficult to
accept.”
In spite of leaving, Shrewsbury
still has a strong connection with
Lyttelton.
She said: “I love going back to
Lyttelton. I don’t feel like I have
ever left. A sense of belonging is
really hard to find but you could
find it there. I’m really proud to
have brought my children up
there.”
Shrewsbury and Prendergast
were married in 2020 on Banks
Peninsula.
“We are looking forward to
starting our journey back to New
Zealand.”
Shrewsbury said in their cabin,
they have a photo taken by a
friend of Mitre Peak in Fiordland.
“It’s a reminder of the land
we’re aiming for,” she said.