Going the distance in separate boats

MARTIN DE RUYTER/Nelson Mail

SAILING SO LONG: Susanne Huber-Curphey sailed for two days to her husband's rescue.

MARTIN DE RUYTER/Nelson Mail

UNPLANNED STOP: Tony Curphey sees to repairs on his 50-year-old cutter Galenaia.

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Some couples have his and hers towels, but Englishman Tony Curphey and his German wife Susanne Huber-Curphey have his and hers yachts.

The solo sailors, who live together while in port but sail their own boats around the world, have made a temporary and unexpected stop in Nelson.

The couple were 30 days into a passage from Australia to Fiji, when Mr Curphey's 8.2m plywood cutter struck bad weather and began taking on water.

"I was a bit worried when I found the damage," Mr Curphey said.

Fortunately, Mrs Huber-Curphey, who was sailing her "much faster" 12.5m fibreglass yacht called So Long, turned around and sailed two days to her stricken husband.

"It's the first time she's rescued me for this type of problem, but she rescues me all the time for other things," Mr Curphey said.

The couple met in Whangarei 12 years ago, while they were both sailing their own yachts. They have already jointly completed one circumnavigation of the world in their own boats, and were partway through completing another in the opposite direction when the damage occurred.

Mrs Huber-Curphey used a 100m rope to tow Mr Curphey and his yacht, named Galenaia, more than 1100km to safety in Nelson.

The couple said towing under sail for eight days was very difficult and there were a few "anxious moments" as they tried to avoid the yachts colliding.

Mrs Huber-Curphey said while they lived together on her boat when they were in port, they enjoyed their own boats and the freedom of sailing solo.

"Two skippers on one boat might be a bit of a clash," she said.

They travel with their terrier dog, Honey. She remains on board So Long for quarantine reasons and has four very good sea-legs.

Mrs Huber-Curphey, 47, is an architect and still has a small income, and Mr Curphey, 63, receives a small pension.

The couple are proud their boats are not luxury cruisers, and both have manual winches and sails that have to be hoisted by hand. They do most of the maintenance on the boats themselves.

They even have a sewing machine to repair sails and canvas.

Mrs Huber-Curphey said she liked her slightly bigger boat, while her husband was proud to live "on a shoestring". "He says it (So Long) is too big and too comfortable and he'd rather bang his head. He doesn't like having it too easy."

Despite being sometimes more than three days away from each other while at sea, they keep in contact two or three times a day via radio.

"People often ask us for the frequency. But we have a public frequency and a private frequency," Mrs Huber-Curphey laughed.

They plan to remain in Nelson for a few weeks while repairs to Galenaia are carried out at Dickson Marine Refits, and then will set off, together, but apart, for Fiji.

- © Fairfax NZ News