By Jane Luscombe
A piece of maritime history has been saved for the nation after fears it could be sold to a private collector.
Trans-Tasman rower Shaun Quincey took the Tasman Trespasser 2 on its last sea trip, to the Voyager Maritime Museum in Auckland.
It doesn't look much, but the little red boat carried Quincey to a record as the first person to row from Australia to New Zealand.
After 4000km and 54 days at sea he was happy to see the back of her - but today he took her on one last voyage.
"It's mixed emotions to be honest," he tells 3 News. "A little bit of, 'Far out, I'm glad I don't have to do this again,' and also just sort of relish the memories of the adventure."
Quincey's dad, Colin, was the first to row the Tasman successfully in 1977, but he went in the opposite direction.
Both men faced screaming winds, huge waves and intense loneliness.
"A couple of 15 metre waves and a whale and a few other things, and a capsize," says Quincey.
The museum has long housed Colin Quincey's boat, but they had no money to buy Shaun's.
A private sale was on the cards, until First Sovereign Trust stepped in with $32,000 so the boats could be displayed together.
"Coming back I owed a whole lot of money and so it's wonderful they came on board."
The museum couldn't be happier.
"I guess the achievements they've made represents that voyager spirit which is something that New Zealand is about," says CEO Murray Reade.
And now the public will be able to experience some of that spirit, from a formidable family double act.
3 News