New Zealand, the South Island originally.

You mean to this port (San Diego) in particular, or to yachting?

To the yachting life...

I miss my family and friends and the changes that are happening in my absence. Also, I miss the landscape and the relaxed friendliness of the people. It's a very nice and easy life, perhaps a little too easy. That's maybe why I left, but I know it's a place I'll go back to some day.

What's especially fun about working on Atlantide?

Atlantide's a very special boat, one of a kind. She was built back in 1930 and in 1940 was part of the Dunkirk evacuation fleet of World War II. She's got a long and interesting past and you can feel it when you walk onto the boat. Although the interior was completely refitted back in '99, she still holds that nostalgia. I like that. I guess I'm an old-fashioned girl at heart.

What do you think that says about you?

Well, I'm not a "fast car, fast boat" kinda girl. I definitely like more classical styles, more old-school, so I suppose that's why Atlantide and I get along so well.

What do you consider your special passion in life?

Music, I'd have to say. I couldn't live without it. It inspires me in my every day.

To listen to or play?

To listen to, these days. I did study classical piano for almost 10 years, with my grandmother as my teacher. I was quite close to finishing my exams, but naturally at 17 I started thinking about other things and became interested in other kinds of music. I'd like to get back to the piano one day. Music's always been a big part of my life.

What's your favorite dish to cook?

Well, that all depends on whom I am cooking for, and of course where we are at the time. Seafood, definitely, as I can get that fresh almost every day. For my boss, it might be a classic Spaghetti Bolognese. Even though it's a simple dish, it can make all the difference when I have fresh and local ingredients to put into it.  I just went to a cooking and wine-tasting course in Napa Valley (in Northern California) for a week. It was an amazing experience, just seeing how much more I've yet to learn. It was very inspiring to learn some "tricks of the trade," so to speak.

Have you studied wine-making?

No as such, but I've certainly tasted enough to know good from bad.

What's the best aspect about your job?

Besides New Zealand, what's you favorite place in the world?

Many places! And often places I've felt like I've wanted to live forever. Retrospectively, however, I don't think that's gonna happen. One of my favorite spots is Kotor in Montenegro. I remember it as such a special, hidden, almost magical place. Being there, you feel like you're the only person in this world. Beautiful stone houses on the mountains, very dark and cold.  Also, I love many islands in the Caribbean, and the Desolation Sounds in Canada, where we've just spent the summer, was spectacular.  Any place is what you make of it, isn't it? Just like everything else.