Jakob Kraus and his crew knew when he left Papeete on Tahiti a few weeks ago that it would be a voyage into the unknown. However, they did not realise that this trip across half the Pacific would end with imprisonment in New Zealand and deportation from the country.
Jakob Kraus, 30, girlfriend Sophia Ulbrich, 27, and boyfriend Hans Börner, 32, have been back in Germany since today. Behind them lie not only 2,000 nautical miles from Tahiti to New Zealand and a flight halfway around the world, but also days full of uncertainty that are far from over, as Kraus reports in an interview with YACHT online.
The young crew had left Papeete in mid-September, heading for New Zealand. The cyclone season in the South Pacific was already approaching. Every year around this time, hundreds of yachts set off southwards from the islands of French Polynesia to escape the path of the cyclones. New Zealand is then the destination of the sailors, where they spend the winter and often also carry out repair and refit work on their boats.
The "Anita" crew's plan also includes this. Flights to Germany are also on the agenda. Jakob Kraus and his friends are travelling around the world in stages. They fly home for a few months at a time to work or take care of important business.
But this year everything is different: the New Zealand health authorities have banned foreign yachts from entering the country since 30 June due to the coronavirus pandemic. Only those who apply for and receive an exemption to enter the country - for humanitarian reasons, for example - are allowed in. Concerns about the cyclone season alone and the desire to spend the winter in the country are not sufficient reasons for entry.
Jakob Kraus and his crew apply for an exemption. Extensive work on the boat is planned in New Zealand and contracts have already been concluded with shipyards. This is also one of the reasons that can be put forward in favour of an entry request. It should take 15 to 20 days to process the application, about as long as the passage with the "Anita" to New Zealand.
As time is running out and the crew is almost certain that they have put forward sufficient arguments to justify an exemption, they set sail. The contingency plan in the event that the application is not approved is to sail on to Fiji.
With New Zealand still a good 48 hours ahead, the application has still not been approved. The crew contacts the authorities on land - this is also possible from the sea via the shortwave system on board. The application is rejected.
Almost half the Pacific lies behind the "Anita", over 2000 nautical miles. A decision has to be made. The plan was actually to turn towards Fiji. But a storm is forecast, and damage to the mast base has become apparent en route, which could have serious consequences. The "Anita" makes contact with the coastguard and heads for the Bay of Islands in the north of New Zealand's North Island. At the time, it seems hard to imagine that this decision will ultimately result in a court hearing and even imprisonment in various New Zealand prisons.
But that's exactly what happens. The initial hope of being able to spend a 14-day quarantine on the jetty in the marina came to nothing. Instead, the sailors from Berlin are detained in various prisons, including a deportation flight via Singapore to Frankfurt am Main, where they arrived today.
What will become of the "Anita"? Jakob Kraus doesn't know yet. In the worst case scenario, he fears that the ship could be seized. Friends in Tahiti have already offered to take the boat out of the country if that is possible again. Now the crew must first arrive back in Germany, process what they have experienced - and see what happens next.
