A small rubber surfboard with a sheet fashioned into a sail — that was 8-year-old Bill McIndoe’s first experience in a sail boat.
Eighty-four years later, he has owned and sailed seven yachts, including one he built himself when he was 16.
"Since then, I’ve had a boat all my life," Mr McIndoe said.
It is fair to say he has salt and sails in his blood.
So what better way to celebrate his 92nd birthday yesterday than to go sailing.
He and his wife Margaret (90) took their yacht Avanti out on Otago Harbour for the special occasion.
"We’re doing two things today," he said.
"We’re having a lovely little trip out on the boat and having lunch together.
"And also we’re dodging Covid-19. There’s none of it out there — I hope."
Mr McIndoe said his love of sailing came from living beside the sea all his life.
He joined the Royal New Zealand Navy in 1946, and spent eight years protecting the peace in post-World War 2.
Later in his service, he was a navigating officer on a New Zealand frigate during the Korean War.
While he worked on some of the world’s most powerful war vessels, living the high-seas life, it was yachts that he always yearned to be at the helm of.
So when he left the navy, he and Mrs McIndoe spent a lot of time at sea, making several journeys from Dunedin to the Pacific Islands and Australia, as well as sailing around New Zealand frequently.
"The sea is dangerous. You have to treat it with respect. But it’s also fun.
"In a small vessel which you can handle yourself, you can go almost anywhere, as long as the boat’s big enough and you can handle it.
"It’s very satisfying to go from one port or place to another, and get there safely."
It was something that required great discipline, he said.
Asked if he was perhaps getting a bit long in the tooth for sailing, and if he had any plans to retire from it, he said: "Yes, in a box".
