Our next chapter'THERE'S ALWAYS A WAY FOR WARD'

Through health scares and treacherous solo sailing trips, best friends Carly and Lucy are navigating uncharted territory together

- Elisabeth Easther.

Challenges are sent to build our characters, which is something English ex-pats Carly Waddleton and Lucy Te Moananui know better than most, because they have survived their fair share of trials.

After a chance meeting at a party in Christchurch 13 years ago, the friends clicked instantly. "And not just because we're both from small landlocked villages in England," says Carly, "but because we're also eternally optimistic, with a mutual love of cheesy music, travel and the ocean."

As part of Lucy's passion for the ocean, the daring Brit has been a competitive surfer and, more recently, a long-distance solo sailor. Based in Kaikōura with her husband and whānau, high school teacher Lucy entered the Solo Trans-Tasman Yacht Race in April.

This was her first attempt at this rigorous event, but the stars did not align and four boats, one of them Lucy's, had to turn back when a massive weather system came through. "But even in those scariest moments, the ocean is incredible, so I'll definitely give the race another go in three years time," Lucy, 39, says determinedly.

As for her qualifying expedition for this famously tough regatta, she survived a six-day, 800km solo sail also in heavy weather. "For a couple of hundred kilometres along the west coast of the North Island, I sat for two nights in six-metre seas and 45-knot winds. I didn't get much sleep as I hadn't been in those conditions in my boat before and I didn't know if she would handle it."