St Mary's Bay: Sea change 

This couple are about to sell so they can sail around Australia.

When Steve McTaggart and Helen Burke wake up, all they need to do is glance out their bedroom window to see if the weather's fine for sailing. Then it's just a few minutes walk down to their yacht.

The couple fell in love with the St Mary's Bay location long before they bought there in 2002. At the time they were based in Melbourne, from where Steve still runs his electronics business.

They were in Auckland for a weekend visit when they spotted the Dunedin Street home on the market. By the Monday the couple had bought the Victorian four-bedroom property because, as Helen explains, of "the views, the proximity to town, and the walk just up to Ponsonby Road". "Also the house itself, the high ceilings, the big hallway, the traditional villa style. It's an original and very pleasant to be in," continues Steve.

"On the Sunday [we saw the house] I looked out over the view and thought, `I can see my boat here', and a few years later my boat was at Westhaven Marina."

The north-facing home has spectacular views across the marina to the Harbour Bridge on one side, and the Tank Farm, Devonport then on to Rangitoto from the other side, but the feel of the villa also appeals to the couple.

"It's a really warm house, a dry house. It's an easy house to live in. We put on the gas heater occasionally. We can go through the winter without being really cold. There's always the sun at the front of the house and it warms up straight away. It's great to wander onto the front deck and have coffee out there," says Steve.

The couple turned the former front lounge into the master bedroom because of the harbour views from the large bay window.
 
"We can see which way the wind is blowing from the flags on the Harbour Bridge so we can see if we can sail or not," laughs Steve.

The former main bedroom is used by Helen for her graphic design business, the third bedroom is the couple's dressing room and the fourth bedroom is a library.

The sunny front lounge, with bay windows, was one of the only rooms the couple needed to renovate. They pulled up the old carpets, removed the scrim from the living space and hallway, polished the floors and painted both areas white.

The modern kitchen and dining room area, with skylights bathing it in all-day sun, sits at the back of the home with French doors leading off the space to a low maintenance, flat, private garden that is perfect for entertaining.

"It's sheltered from the wind and always seems to be a few degrees warmer," says Helen.

There are approved plans to dig underneath the house and create a wine cellar, home theatre, office and double garage. But instead of renovating, the couple is off on a high seas adventure.

Their 13m yacht will be their next home as they sail from Auckland to Brisbane before navigating around Australia.

VITAL STATISTICS

WHERE: 22 Dunedin Street, St Mary's Bay

SIZE: Land 400sq m, house 149sq m.

PRICE INDICATION: Interest expected over $1.2 million. Tender closes September 26.

INSPECT: Sat/Sun 1.30-2.15pm.

CONTACT: Kym Aiken, Bayleys, 309 6020 or 021 596 222.

FEATURES: Four-bedroom villa featuring double bay windows with stunning views over the Harbour Bridge, Tank Farm, Devonport and Rangitoto. The open-plan kitchen and dining area leads to a paved, low-maintenance, private garden.