Kevin Hall - OneWorld Challenge, United States

	Navigator Kevin Hall, from the Seattle OneWorld syndicate, USA.

Three years ago he was with Paul Cayard’s AmericaOne, which was beaten in the Louis Vuitton Cup finals by Prada.

This time he’s a navigator on the sailing team for Craig McCaw’s OneWorld syndicate out of Seattle.

Kevin is also an accomplished sailing coach, achieving medal success with American and Danish crews at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

His wife Amanda is with him in Auckland.

Q: What activities do you enjoy while you’re in New Zealand?

A: Whenever I have some time off I like to go kite boarding or kite surfing as it is also called. I started doing it here in Auckland about 18 months ago. While doing that, I’ve been lucky enough to meet Cindy Mosey, the New Zealander who is now the women’s world kite surfing champion. She’s been great to learn from.

Amanda and I also like to go for walks with our dog Luka, especially at Piha. It’s just breathtaking walking along the beach there. Beaches in California have a sameness about them, but out on the West Coast it’s so rugged and so different. As well as that, the beach can be all but deserted which is fabulous.

Q: What do you enjoy about living here?

A: What’s great about Auckland is that it has all the big city attractions like fantastic restaurants, the chance to see the symphony orchestra and that sort of thing – but you’re also just 15 minutes or so from being right out in the country. That’s just not possible at home. People here think 20-30 minutes to travel somewhere is a long time.

Q: What tourist attractions and activities have you taken in here?

A: Around Auckland, we’ve been up the Sky Tower, had a good look around Devonport – which is a cute and different little place – as well as going to Waiheke Island for the Jazz Festival. We’ve also spent some time in the Bay of Islands and in July we were in Wanaka, which was sensational. We did some heli-boarding and snowboarding there.

Q: What are the big differences you notice about life here?

A: I like the fact that people still take time out at the weekend here. At home you become accustomed to everything being open at any time of the day. It’s nice to have a different attitude in that regard. It feels more relaxed.

Another thing about the United States is that it’s such a litigious society, but not here. You have skateboard parks which you couldn’t have at home, because there would be all sorts of safety issues and someone would be filing a law suit if they got hurt. It’s nice to have that freedom of choice here.

Q: What would you rate as your favourite holiday destinations in New Zealand?

A: No contest. It’s Wanaka. We would love to go there again and spend more time in the snow. It’s just so gorgeous around that area. You hear so often that lots of New Zealanders don’t appreciate what they have in the South Island. They should.