Linda Trubridge details her family's sailing venture from England to New Zealand in her book <i>Passages</i>. Photo/Supplied.
Linda Trubridge details her family's sailing venture from England to New Zealand in her book <i>Passages</i>. Photo/Supplied.
The first thing you notice about Linda Trubridge is her size.
She is tiny in stature and vulnerable looking. But this belies her strength of character.
Having travelled the world to some of the most exotic places, she is no stranger to stepping out of her comfort zone. In fact, she is one with nature.
Married to internationally renowned furniture designer, David Trubridge, they have two sons; performance artist, Sam and world renowned freediver, William.
Linda has forged a career in her own right, as an artist, and yoga teacher but most importantly an author.
Take the cover of her book Passages - an innocent image of a young woman with her two bare bottomed children looking out to the vast ocean that awaits them.
Facebook banned it due to the naked bodies.
"Naivety comes in all shapes and sizes. It was only when Facebook censored the cover that I considered the innocent bodies it portrays. Back then with fresh water a scarcity, privacy guaranteed, clothes were an impediment, something to wear for trips ashore and special occasions."
Linda was born in Bermuda and educated in Britain. When Sam was four and a half and William, nearly two, the Trubridges decided to abandon their secure life and go on a trip of a lifetime.
Throwing caution to the wind, they embarked upon a sailing journey aboard Hornpipe that over the course of five years saw them eventually end up in New Zealand and for a further five years they continued living on what had become their home.
It is these 10 years which she believes laid the foundation for all her family's successes.
It shaped their lives and taught her family, especially her sons, resilience. It gave them an ability to deal with problems.
"When you live in that extreme way, you have to solve all your problems – you have to fix everything in your environment and if the boat has some breakage, you have to fix it out at sea; if you have conflicts you have to deal with them."
And for David it was entwined in his art. Sculpture, furniture, lighting - his work is renowned for being inspired by the ocean and landscapes.
"His work, no matter what we do, they speak of nature, they bring that sense of nature's healing qualities into people's homes and into their environment."
Linda had found herself on the edge of the Morland in Cumbria, England about - 160km from the sea in every direction.
Yet her yearning to leave the landlocked confines proved to be the stronger pull.
"It was cold and a very extreme lifestyle and the political climate in England was frightening. I was very vulnerable and yes I felt like 'yes we were entering dangers' but we would be in control of them.
"I felt that I would be more in control of my life in the sea."
Although, her parental responsibilities didn't stop. Like educating her children.
"I felt if they didn't learn to read and write or fell behind at school, it would be my fault.
"I started really early and it was actually excellent because they learnt to read when they were really very little and they just lived in reading."
After five years at sea, they set their eyes on New Zealand for the first time – Bay of Islands in fact.
And for five more years they lived on the boat in the summer and Linda taught at a local high school.
But David could not earn a living.
"We were living in a remote place. We even built a house for some people that we could then use as a workshop for him, for making furniture. But all these things didn't add up.
"We lived off my part-time teaching which just paid for food basically and over time - probably 10 years - things started to explode.
"So I feel that this gives a sense of hope for all those who are struggling - a sense of 'yeah we do have these extreme times in our lives but they don't last forever, there is a time when we learn so much'."
They arrived in Hawke's Bay in 1990 and incorporated themselves back into society – David got a post as an artist in residence at EIT.
"After a year our kids were then close to [being] teenagers and we realised that times had changed and they needed to be part of society, they needed to be in a real school."
"We like it here. Can we stay" were the words of affirmation from their sea children.
"We realised they needed to be independent but it was very difficult for us.
"We went from living on the boat where you are aware of every tide, you are aware of the sun and the moon and every aspect of nature living in harmony and we just had to turn our back on that.
"Instead we turned our eyes inland and every weekend we went for long hikes and walks up the top of the kawaka mountains in the Ruahine Ranges."
And they haven't stopped that sense of being at one with nature.
"We are constantly walking and surfing in the sea ... but it is not the same, not so intense as being cradled in the ocean.
"I think to some extent I've travelled and had my adventures and then I've desired for security physically and emotionally, but that nomadic nature was very powerful in me long before I met my husband. It was absolutely my driving force."
Linda is very clear, when asked about the future.
Linda Trubridge. Photo/Supplied.
"I feel like our next step in every case for all of us is our concern for the environment. That is our top priority in whatever we do next for all of us – whatever any of us can do to bring attention to that."
Linda believes humans have the ability to connect, regardless of language and race.
"I feel like I don't belong anywhere, I belong in this world - a universal citizenship.
"I feel that this is paramount to me. I hate the idea of borders. I think cultural things are wonderful things but they should not be borders or differences in our harmonious whole as people."
This was evident in her bond with the women in Tahiti - despite not speaking the same language they were able to connect at a much deeper level.
In Passages, the reader connects with events that are frequent catalysts for reflecting on one's own experience in relationships within extended families.
For those of us who have not ventured so far into the unknown Passages is indeed a journey - not simply in the physical sense but also spiritually. The words combined with her and her children's drawings elevate it and transport you to their time on the sea.
"Everybody's got their story to tell and this is my story.
"I think all these things are extreme things but I think to some extent the way I've approached it all, I hope it's told as a mother.
"It speaks of family relationships and family. I think it makes it tangible because it's told through these extreme circumstances.
"I hope putting this out there will allow whoever reads it will reflect on their own lives or give them the strength to believe they can do what they set out to do."
• Passages by Linda Trubridge can be bought at Wardini Books in Havelock North and Napier, or David Trubridge's design studio in Whakatu.
