Zoonie Sails Home

An inspiring account of triumph over tragedy to sail halfway around the world and complete a six-year circumnavigation.

By April 2017, retired British couple Barbara and Robert White have successfully cruised aboard their thirty-year-old sailing yacht Zoonie to the other side of the globe when natural disaster strikes. Alerted to the rapid sinking of their beloved vessel while exploring the countryside of New Zealand, they race back to her to assess the damage and set to work, determined to accomplish their ambitious journey home.

Alongside the challenging reality of short-handed bluewater sailing - enduring the elements, equipment breakdown and extreme isolation - life on land becomes increasingly fraught: a dangerous bacterial infection puts Robert's heart at risk, bush fires ravage Australia as the couple sail its coast and the Covid-19 pandemic closes ports and borders, sending half of humanity - including our cruisers - into lockdown. Tens of thousands of miles from home and family, Barbara and Robert must rely on their resilience, adaptability and an unwavering curiosity to keep on exploring.

As they traverse the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, island and coastal hopping along the way, old friendships are re-ignited and new ones forged, the couple finding solace in the company of those they meet en route. Weaving stories, past and present, of the people and places of their odyssey, Barbara invites us to see the world how others experience it, with warmth, humour and an indomitable spirit.

Picking up where A Tale of Two Yachts (covering the first half of their round-the-world voyage) left off, Zoonie Sails Home is an ode to a cherished boat, a love letter to slow travel and a tonic to the landlocked soul.