Dmitry Pelevin and his son Andre
Photo: Supplied
With borders closing and flights becoming scarce, Dmitry Pelevin decided to sail solo, 7000 nautical miles from the Caribbean to Auckland.
Pelevin cleared customs in Opua, where he passed a Covid-19 test, and because he was at sea for more than two weeks he was granted entry into the country without having to go through managed isolation.
Just after he reached terra firma he shared with
Checkpoint that the journey had not been all plain sailing, but that his son was delighted to see him.
"He was very excited... the last leg was quite tough, so I couldn't get inside to the marina because the wind was very strong and... it was just a struggle to arrive inside.