Dream Time: Sailing and Surfing in Tahiti

July 22, 2009 — -- In April 2000, husband and wife Neville and Catherine Hockley fell head-over-heels for the sailboat Dream Time in a Long Island parking lot. In June 2007, they packed up their stationary lives in New York and set sail for an eight- to ten-year adventure on the water.

Today, Dream Time is the couple's home and office as they sail around the world, working remotely to run a New York-based design studio while blogging about their journey and documenting the people and places they discover along the way.

The plan is a complete circumnavigation that will take the Hockleys across the Pacific to New Zealand and Australia, then up to southeast Asia and over to India. They intend to travel up the Red Sea to Cairo before exploring the Mediterranean, crossing the Atlantic and returning to New York City.

Read excerpts from their adventure below and join ABC News in tracking their travels. The couple is in Tahiti at present.

We have definitely been spoiled with all the deserted white sandy beaches entirely to ourselves in the Tuamotu's, so initially the volume of traffic, people and cruise ships in the main town here in Tahiti felt altogether crowded and busy by comparison. But Tahiti is still Tahiti, and it's filled with gorgeous Tahitian people who are unfailingly friendly and accommodating so any misgivings I had soon vanished after we settled in.

Funny thing is Tahiti is this little speck of an island in the middle of the pacific so there's the perception of a tranquil sweet smelling little island with the occasional luxury hotel, when it's actually a bustling little island full of activity. But it is 'French' Polynesia, with an extra helping of French, so there are plenty of public holidays, thoughtful relaxation and the requisite 3 hour lunches, and the food is actually so good here it's worth every minute.

We spent 3 days driving around eating scrumptious food and seeing as much as we could and discovered the quieter version of Tahiti along the way with its pretty hillside hotels, and beaches full of enthusiastic surfers.

We drove out to Teahupoo which is famous in surfing circles for its awesome 30 to 60 foot incredible waves, and it was a bit like watching fireworks as we oooowed and ahhhhhed at the menacing waves as they roared and crashed into huge white clouds over the reef in front of us, making Neville even more certain about taking further surfing lessons.

Now we have been here for two weeks of Tahitian dancing, Bastille Day parades and gnarley surfing, its time to start thinking about our next island Moorea, a day sail away. Apparently there is some great fishing between here and there so we have been busy stocking up on even more sophisticated fishing accessories to catch those illusive fishies without, I hope, losing any fingers in the process!