Robin Kebbell Kirkcaldie

Robin lived an amazingly creative life, with many lives as one well lived journey. He was born in Levin New Zealand where he grew up sailboat racing while learning animal husbandry, farming from the age of seven building his own sailboats. His father brought the family to England to develop, produce the jet engine. Robin was educated in the UK for several years while developing skills in school for carpentry, which served him later in life renovating his family farm in Whanganui New Zealand raising his three children Georgina, John and Adam with his first wife Gloria, an Australian Royal ballet prima ballerina. They met in West Australia while he worked in Australia as an entrepreneur in nickel prospecting in Kimberly, Pilbara regions of the Aussie outback as his version of Crocodile Dundee with his team of men until the Nickel boom crashed.

Upon returning to NZ, he purchased a run down pig infested hilly country Whanganui farm which he renovated to begin cattle and sheep ranching with eight dogs and one horse, for this vast wild ranch until the unprecedented hike in high interest rates broke his dream living on the family farm. Debt was a motive to begin a new home whereby he moved his family to Lake Taupo New Zealand, he purchased, owned and operated a fish and chips shop earning enough to finance his desire to expand his lake front business by building his favorite design of lasers sailboats to begin the Lake Taupo sailing center, chartering and renting sailboats for several years. The center still has his sailboats business in tact.

The marriage eventually broke up, Robin gave his wife everything to help with expenses raising their children while he decided to move to the San Bernardino California area where he began construction jobs before a friend, another Kiwi named Josie, recommended he try living in Santa Barbara. To earn money to send home to Gloria, while she raised their children.

Once in Santa Barbara he purchased the Dry Dock sailboat refitting and restoration business which he ran successfully for over twenty years. As a member of Santa Barbara Yacht Club he raced his many sailboats to win many races. Having come from New Zealand background, with 4 forefathers, licensed ship captains, he became a licensed delivery captain, with the distinction of having become NZ National champion twice in the Farr Quarter tonner division.

He was an avid backpacking enthusiast packing across the John Muir trail with his good friend Michael, and their friends enjoyed the skiing at Mammoth where they escaped the cold marina environment during Winter.

Rob met Stephanie Mortensen-Kirkcaldie of Painted Cave in 2009, married in 2010 retrofitted S/V RedWitch II a Rhodes Bounty 2 40’ racer cruiser category. They lived aboard RedWitch II for 13 1/2 years together, he taught Stephie everything she needed to know while living aboard RedWitch while sailing from Santa Barbara to New Zealand, arriving November 2014, together as a married couple through all the crazy experiences. Stephie attained her dental hygiene license in 2015, for practicing dental hygiene while living aboard on anchor and pile mooring, in NZ, because marina life was not as interesting as the wild side of New Zealand Ocean, Bay and River opportunities for swimming and kayak trekking, backpacking, in the Haureki Gulf from the boat for recreation on the North Island, and commuting by kayak to shore and walking or commuting to nearby work. Robin continued to find work at his pace, retired, purchasing several 20-22’ trailer sailors to restore in a boat shed, with a hoist, at a friends home while living in the Kerikeri Stone Store basin on the river, rowing and walking most places for fun.He continued Racing from the Shores of Santa Barbara, on the Baja Haha regatta to Mexico, in the Bay of Banderas at Puerto Vallarta, and in the Pacific islands on regattas, racing RedWitch II even towing the dinghy to winning place sometimes, all of the way to complete his last races in Russell, The tall ships race placing top five in our class! Robin and Stephanie both volunteered everywhere they could while sailing across the Pacific, to pick up trash can bags full of rubbish, in 2017 we sailed to Niuatupatapu, Tonga, Wallace islands , Fiji while volunteering help locals with items from the boat, spare parts for the local churches, animal rescue, medicine contribution, water tank repairs, fixing families home guttering repairs, donating to set up solar panels, for some way to be in touch with locals while Stephanie volunteered with dental education, for youth in a Mexico school and local community outreach, in Fiji, she made happen with local help while Robin painted the schools bathrooms, with a friends in Barra De Navidad.

Once in NZ, he began driving for New Zealand Roads and Safety at age 75 continuing until the year prior to his death, completing his class 5 truck driving license by age 74, necessary for data sharing for Google Maps, surveys, which he completed for New Zealand Far North district in conjunction. At 77 he and Stephie pack horse trekked across the NZ Southern Alps Kaikoura district for a week with friends from Isle of Skye, another yachting couple, to complete a bucket list dream.

Robin had battled Mylofibrosis for many years stemming to a form of Leukemia, he stepped on a conefish by accident in Fatu Hiva in 2014, which exacerbated his decline earlier than later, passing at a young 79 years of age at his home, with family present, in Skudders Beach NZ. Still very close to RedWitch II moored nearby, having moved away from living aboard 5 months prior. At His Family memorial at Lake Taupo New Zealand, knowledgable friends sailed by on the Schooner he had skippered also, on Lake Taupo, while he enjoying his passion, helping others deliver sailboats and charter them professionally.

Prior to my knowing him he had purchased the S/v Vaquero, Santa Rosa Island cattle boat, featured in Huell Howsers “ The Cattle boat”.on YouTube.To develop as a chartered dinner and party boat for time in Mexico in Winter, while running the Dry Dock, an enterprise that didn’t go forward, he gave the Vaquero to Alex his friend and is moored in the Sacramento River.

He is missed by his wife of 14 years Stephanie Mortensen Kirkcaldie, the first Dental Hygienist from USA to sail to work to New Zealand from Santa Barbara, as a livaboard, for that fact, first in the world for a new way to do things the Captain Rob Kirkcaldie delivery captain way, aiming to help educate and serve the community in a time of severe shortage of dental hygienists, helping bring a strong technician candidate from California qualified training delivered to the dental public in New Zealand. Which she continued until 2023. Robin is at peace, Appreciated and thought well of!