PRESENT CHAPTER 4 | 15 SEPTEMBER 2026

It’s been a roller-coaster ride.

We left Tonga in mid-August to sail home to New Zealand. After ten years of cruising, we were both ready to get home. I was especially keen to get back into my land-based workshop and start work on a range of Polynesian-inspired jewellery that I’ve been incubating over the months we’ve been heading west. I hope to make these special one-off pieces in collaboration with a local stone and wood carver here in Northland, New Zealand.

The last leg of our trip, from Vava’u, Tonga, to Opua, New Zealand, was always going to be challenging in winter. Although the distance is only about 1,350 nautical miles, at this time of year it’s very hard to find a long enough break between the winter weather systems spinning out of the Southern Ocean to make the dash.

We picked our moment and set off, knowing we were probably going to get a bit beaten up for about 24 hours. But, as so often happens, the weather had different ideas. We ended up being hammered for four days and nights.

Sleep-deprived and feeling rather emotional, we finally made landfall on a dark winter’s night. We tied up at the customs dock, made a hot toddy and had a long, hot shower.

The next chapter of our lives was about to begin.

Until the next horizon,

Lou x

Coming Home

New York, New York