ABOUT | Camara Sailing

ABOUT US

We are a family of four who have been sailing and cruising for over 20 years, about 16 years of those on our old yacht, a 42ft monohull. Over the years we've covered about 50,000nm and raised both our children afloat doing life a little different to most.

Our family loves all types of water sports and the outdoors and you'll never see us running out of things to do in an anchorage. Depending on the weather conditions you will either find us surfing, kitesurfing, or perhaps we are out enjoying what Mother Nature has to offer hiking, paddle boarding, spearfishing or exploring in and around the island.

Of course we love sailing and are thrilled with our new sailing 'machine' - but it is the whole package of this cruising lifestyle that suits us in every way and is probably the reason we have chosen this as our lifestyle for over two decades already and no intention to stop!

To us this is our idea of living the dream and making the most of life!

A LITTLE GLIMPSE INTO OUR LIVES

PETER - 'The Captain'

Peter has been born and raised in South Africa and has had a love for the ocean and passion for surfing from a young age. Introduced to sailing in his youth, it had always been his dream to sail away one day looking for the perfect wave and he did so in 1998. He met Christina in the Caribbean, a year into his journey and has sailed together with her ever since, raising two kids aboard along the way.

Peter is a qualified wooden & composite boatbuilder and marine rigger and bought in 2015 with Christina an abandoned 80ft former race boat, rebuilding it for 3.5 years, turning it into a fast and comfortable floating home for the family. He's still a salty soul that loves to spend his days surfing, kiteboarding, spearfishing or sailing!

CHRISTINA - 'First Mate'

Christina grew up by the mountains and the idyllic Chiemsee in Bavaria, in southern Germany. A love for travel and backpacking led to a trip to a tropical island in the Caribbean where she met Peter and as they say, the rest is history.

Though a banking consultant in her professional life, she has always preferred spending her days outside being active rather than being confined in an office. She couldn't imagine a life that's not lived on the water and you can usually find her out on her paddleboard, kiteboarding, exploring underwater or hiking any peak she can find on the islands they are visiting. Her other passion is around nutrition and she loves to be creative in the galley when she's not outside living the dream!

CAMERON - 'The Frother'

Meet the 'Frother' of the family!

Cameron is our hands and muscle on deck who lives to spend his days in the water and can usually be seen flying high with his kite, perfecting his kite foiling skills or hunting below the surface for a fresh feed of fish or lobster. He has recently joined the Reedin kiteboarding Grom team and is excited to soar to new heights with this incredible opportunity!

He has finished his school education and is working on boats while he is figuring out what's next for him. Besides being one of our favourite and capable crew, he also owns his own 31ft trimaran that he repaired and refitted and is looking forward to sailing around New Zealand this summer.

TARA - 'The Sous-Chef'

Meet our other favourite and capable crew aboard Camara! Tara is our chief main sheet and furling line operator during sailing maneuvers. She can also be found in the galley as she loves cooking and baking on board and is famous for her delicious brownies which we all love! She shares the family's passion of kiteboarding and can be found out there trying new tricks, coached by her brother Cameron. If she's not out kiteboarding or snorkelling, she can be found out exploring by paddleboard or combing the beaches for treasures left behind with the tides that she usually transforms into beautiful pieces of art. She's great at spotting shells and sealife whether that's on the beach, in or under the water! Two more years of school ahead for this mermaid before she graduates.

ABOUT THE BOAT

Camara is the first of 10 Ocean 80's built by Southern Ocean Shipyard and designed by world renown naval architects Doug Peterson and David Alan-Williams.

She was built for the 1981/82 Whitbread Round-The-World-Race, then called 'Ocean Greyhound' and renamed to 'FCF Challenger' before the race finished. In 1989/90 she raced as 'Creighton's Naturally' in her last appearance in the Whitbread RTWR.

After her racing days she was used as a corporate charter yacht for many years before she eventually sailed across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand where she was left and abandoned.

We bought and rescued her in late 2015 and spent the following 3.5 years rebuilding and breathing new life back into her. She re-launched on Christmas Day in 2018 and has been sailing the South Pacific since.

Due to the recent pandemic she has mostly travelled between New Zealand and Fiji but with most borders open again in the South Pacific we are excited to explore many other island groups over the coming years!