TREVOR ROBERTSON ABOARD IRON BARK II

JANUARY 22, 2014



IRON BARK II IN TRINIDAD

 

TWO OF A KIND

        







Since Rod and I left the US we have on occasion found ourselves in rare company.    Last week Trevor Robertson ,who just returned from Greenland came aboard for a drink in the cockpit of It's Perfect.  Trevor is an unassuming man without an ounce of ego.  He lives aboard Iron Bark II a 35ft steel, gaff rigged cutter which he built 16 years ago in Queensland, Australia.  The boat is quite roomy below decks, has a 18hp motor and no refrigeration.  Trevor keeps her meticulously clean inside and out.



WINTER BERTH IN ANTARCTICA

He is a geologist by profession who worked to finance his passion of sailing the world.  Trevor has an uncommon attraction to the Arctic and Antarctica telling of the beauty of the shores and the kindness of the people.  He said the people of the villages are "So nice it's almost embarrassing."  In 1998 he left New Zealand alone and rounded Cape Horn sailing south to the Antarctic.  After finding the perfect spot he spent the winter iced in with no sunlight for more than 6 months. Using diesel to heat the boat, he could not keep it warm enough to keep his batteries from freezing.  With no power, he lived by candle light.  In January 2000 he broke out of the ice and sailed to the Falkland's and on to Trinidad.  He has rounded both Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope circumnavigating the world and thinks nothing of weeks alone under sail in the ocean.

EARLY FREEZE

He was joined by Annie Hill in 2002 and the pull of the Arctic led them north.  In 2004 they sailed north along the Greenland coast and found the perfect spot to spend the winter frozen in the ice.  Annie has quite a sailing record of her own.  Since 1975 she has sailed her 28 ft boat crossing the oceans of the world.   Iron Bark II is believed to be the first boat to have wintered unsupported in both the Arctic and the Antarctic.  Annie stayed a few years and then departed to once again sail her own dreams.  They remain very good friends. 

FROZEN IN

After a chat in our
cockpit today Trevor returned to Iron Bark II, he will leave Trinidad for a 18 to 20 day sail north to the Chesapeake Bay to visit friends before again turning north.  This year he will summer on the coast of Greenland or Labrador before returning again to the these islands he knows so well.  After listening to his tales it makes our short travels seem small indeed.  He gave me pictures of some of his adventures and I will post more of them in the days to come.  We will see Trevor again, out there on the water.