Ep 28 - Dr Dave Austin

Dave Austin is well known to many in the New Zealand and Australian sailing communities as Dr Dave. He’s sailed more than 40,000 offshore miles, done a number of Sydney Hobart races, a couple of two-handed Round North Island races and raced up to the Pacific Islands multiple times. He’s also one of the pre-eminent intensive care specialists in Australasia and in 2019 was nominated for Australian of the Year despite being a Kiwi.

Dr Dave, who has assisted with a number of medical emergencies at sea and been Yachting New Zealand’s medical officer since 2015, talks about what yachties and boaties should do to make sure they are prepared if the worst happens. He also delves into some of his sailing experiences, like when he had to walk away from Digby Taylor’s Whitbread campaign in 1985, his dramatic experiences during the 2002 Round North Island Race when he was nearly washed onto the rocks at Cape Palliser and the time he was so sleep deprived he thought he saw a flock of sheep on the foredeck.