Passion for the water
Matt grew up in the UK where his fathers passion for the ocean rubbed off during numerous sailing adventures on board the family yacht. After finishing a degree in Environmental Science he travelled to South East Asia and then Australia, where he met his future wife Gill. They travelled together for a year, including several months in Tasmania exploring by foot and boat. After a few months picking apples in the Huon Valley, sleeping in the apple shed with the tractor, they had fallen in love with Tasmania, the Huon Valley and each other!
After Gill returned to Western Australia to finish her Architectural studies Matt emigrated and joined her to live in Fremantle. Matt continued sailing, racing regularly out of Fremantle Sailing Club. It wasn’t long before Gill was also hooked on sailing and they later built a small 24’ racing yacht with a friend. They spent most of their time either in or on the water swimming, boating and kayaking.
There were numerous Tasmanian hiking trips over those years which continued to stoke their desire to one day move permanently to Tasmania. In 2004 they purchased a 31’ cruising boat and immediately set off on a 15 day passage direct to Tasmania where they cruised around the island before sailing back to Fremantle. In 2005 they were back in Tasmania, this time as competitors in the Sydney Hobart Race in a friend’s boat.
Love of Nature
2006 saw them depart on a sailing adventure on, what was to be, a 7 year journey around the Pacific. Pushing north through Indonesia and Papua New Guinea to Japan and Alaska working where possible along the way. They were lucky enough to purchase 2 collapsible kayaks whist in Japan allowing them to explore some wild and remote areas along the way. In 2010 they were back in Australia to begin a new adventure with the birth of their first son, Jess. Whilst back in Australia they took the opportunity to visit Tasmania again and set the seeds for a more permanent move. Land was purchased in the beautiful town of Dover, Far South Tasmania which would become the ultimate destination for their sailing journey. They re-joined the boat in Alaska when Jess was 12 months old and completed their circumnavigation of the Pacific via Canada, USA, Mexico and numerous South Pacific Islands.
In Dover they settled down moving on to their land after almost 10 years living aboard. A second son, Dete, was born in 2015 as they designed and built their own straw bale home with the help of the family and community. Gill started a successful architectural design business leaving Matt to follow his passion for the water. An opportunity awaited in Far South Tasmania for a business to provide visitors with access to the stunning local waters and learn about the fascinating local history. Esperance Adventures was born in 2016. Their cruising boat sits moored in the Bay waiting for its next adventure!
