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author, journalist

Arctic sailing
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America's Cup

Welcome...

Over 25 years, I wrote about more than 400 boats, mostly as editor of Boating New Zealand. I loved it, and picked up 15 awards in journalism and story writing. In 2015, I left Auckland for a lifestyle block in Golden Bay. I barely knew a chook from a duck, but suddenly I was writing about chickens, sheep and muddy calamities. It spawned a magazine column and my sixth book: High Heels and Gumboots (HarperCollins, 2025). But ultimately, we love the ocean and love the land for similar reasons. If you agree, I think you'll enjoy browsing my website, from the America's Cup to raising chickens.

The brutal, hilarious
and heart-warming reality of owning
a lifestyle block.

Wild Seas to greenland book
Oceanspirit Publishing

An attempt to sail the Northwest Passage with Whitbread veteran Ross Field. Essential reading if you're planning an offshore voyage.

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UK & Europe readers: available from Lodestarbooks.com

Adrian Hayter's sailing classic of the first solo voyage from England to New Zealand.
With an introduction by Rebecca Hayter.

Albert Strange design Sheila 2
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Trotter’s vivid storytelling and Kiwi humour takes us back to an era of Dacron, daggerboards, wooden booms and skegs – so grab your harness, hook in, and relive the magic.

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The final book in Andrew Fagan's Swirly World trilogy in which he attempts to set a record for the smallest vessel to solo circumnavigate the world.

Oceanspirit Publishing
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Between victorious America's Cup campaigns with Team New Zealand in 1995 and 2000, Rick Dodson was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS). At first, he kept it secret. As MS took effect, he embarked on a new challenge, the 2016 Paralympics.

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A stunning, coffee table-style book of 344 pages, 244mm x 288mm,

with more than 200 photos and drawings.

Des Townson was a yacht designer and boat builder known for exquisitely graceful yachts and the remote-controlled Electron. He possessed an analytical mind, an innate feel for sailing boats and an eye for their visual balance. He believed that if he were blind-folded and put on the helm of any of his yachts, he would know which it was, by how it felt under sail.

His close friend Brian Peet chronicles his life and design work through the recollections of Des and his family, friends and colleagues, and pays tribute to his legacy, best represented by his yachts still sailing and cruising New Zealand waters.

Des Townson yacht designs
What You Wish For

What You Wish For

One man's guide to life, death and alternative therapies

by Paul Blacklow and Rebecca Hayter

by Paul Blacklow and Rebecca Hayter

Life was going well for Paul Blacklow. He was newly married, working with some of New Zealand's top sportsmen as a sports massage therapist and training to run a half-marathon. Then he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND). Paul, the quintessential Kiwi bloke, decided to explore alternative therapies. The result is What You Wifh For, an accessible guide for people diagnosed with a terminal illness, and a moving story of determination, humour and love to inspire anyone seeking answers to some of life's big questions.

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Oceans Alone

Chris Sayer's solo adventures on the high seas

by Rebecca Hayter

Chris Sayer had always dreamed of the Vendee Globe Race, and the stepping stone was the single-handed Mini Transat 650 class.

Image by Lionello DelPiccolo

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Please use this form to get in touch with questions about my books or writing projects.

A. PO Box 830,

     NELSON 7040,

     New Zealand

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©2020 Rebecca Hayter.

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