The Reluctant Sailor

The Joys and Adversities of a Sailors Wife, so begins the story of 'The Reluctant Sailor'. We travel through the history of an ordinary woman who led an extraordinary life. As we share the journey by the side of Helen Haskins, we relive the courage with which she met her adventures and her sorrows. We can also join in on the fun, the laughs and the love she shared with her family and friends, sailing around international and Australian waters. Helen Haskins was born and raised in Mackay on the east coast of Australia, to an Australian mother and a refugee Russian immigrant father. Helen grew up and lived the life of a typical Australian woman of her time, getting married at 17, and becoming a home-loving housewife and mother. She liked nothing better than to cook and entertain family and friends, and still does to this day. Due to contracting Rheumatic Fever as a child she was not encouraged to learn to swim or do sports and still does not swim well. Therefore she was ill prepared for marriage to a man who didn't want to settle down and dreamt of spending his life sailing. Together with her husband John and family in tow, they travelled over most of Australia, back-packed around Europe, house exchanged internationally, and lived on board a self-built yacht named, 'Trah.' And sail they did After Helen and John hand built John's own remodelled 'Spray', a redesign of the famous yacht sailed around the world by Joshua Slocum, they sailed together up the Queensland coast, to New Zealand and New Caledonia on one of the safest designed yachts in the world. Helen retells her adventures with numerous people, frightening storms, unexpected reefs, sprinkled with love, drama and lots of laughter, though some of the laughs would only come later. Join Helen on her fantastic life journey, ever The Reluctant Sailor.