Julian
Hi! In my twenties I had an opportunity to sail around the Isle of White for a couple of weeks. I loved the experience, especially (oddly enough) getting caught in a brief gale. The experience left me wanting more, but a couple of decades, two kids, and a change of hemisphere passed before I actually bought a boat and learnt to sail. My background includes time in the UK Armed Forces, UK and NZ Ambulance Services, and NZ Police. I have also worked as a tutor for prison inmates, with ‘at risk’ youths, and had various miscellaneous jobs, including a spell as a ‘book bus’ driver and librarian! I hold a PhD in Renaissance literature and am the author of Shakespeare’s Forgotten Allegory, an academic text that reveals how medieval theatre influenced early modern playwrights. I love the self-reliance of sailing, as well as its blend of tradition, theory, and practical skills.
Cara
Hello! I was born and raised in Dunedin, New Zealand. As a youngster I did a fair bit of dinghy sailing but then moved onto spring board diving, representing NZ for a time. Its been great to get back into sailing, and great to take some time out from my busy job as an anaesthetist. Though it will be a challenge, I hope to be able to keep my medical registration current whilst we travel. I’m very interested in information technology and so have become the default ‘Technology and Navigation Officer’ on Taurus. I’m looking forward to plenty of adventures, dolphin spotting, and glasses of wine whilst watching the sun set.
Taurus
Taurus is a 1980 Skorpion IIa, built by the Feltz shipyard in Germany. This company began constructing steel and aluminium vessels in 1945, and quickly gained a reputation for quality and craftsmanship. The Skorpion’s design is a compromise (as all yacht designs are) between sailing ability, strength, and crew comfort. It has a moderate long keel with a relatively narrow beam. The result is a yacht with an outstanding reputation for sea-worthiness. So much so, that one article regarding heavy weather sailing begins with the advice, “buy a good boat, such as a Feltz Skorpion.” Taurus has circumnavigated the globe at least one and a half times; has spent an extended period in the North Sea; has sailed around Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope; and has spent a lot of time in the ‘roaring forties,’ circumnavigating both Stewart Island (south of NZ), and Tasmania (in winter). As impressive a CV as this might sound, this all took place in the last fifteen years of Taurus’ forty five year history. The voyages she undertook during her first thirty years are unfortunately unknown.
Cara and I bought Taurus in Opua, New Zealand, in 2020 from a German couple whose plans to circumnavigate had been foiled by Covid. They had sailed the boat to New Zealand from Italy, via the Panama Canal, after purchasing it from Christoph and Babsi. This Austrian couple had sailed Taurus around the world over a seven year period. A blog recording their trip can be found here: http://www.sytaurus.com
Sailing Taurus NZ 