It was an overcast and drizzly Sunday morning, but peacefully calm on the Otago Harbour when I first met Bob. On the evening before, I had accepted an invitation to ride onboard the Elsie Evans, a historic Otago Harbour launch moored at the Portobello wharf.

As I waited for him to arrive, I didn't know what to expect over the next hour or so of cruising. But after some time, Bob arrived supported by his family and slowly made their way down the boardwalk,  so it became apparent that there was more to this trip and his connection to this boat.

The skipper had invited Bob and his family to join this trip along the harbour, and the family had made a trip down from Christchurch to Dunedin with him, with a purpose in mind. 

Knowing Bob's connection to the vessel, the skipper felt there would be an opportunity for me to sit in on this special trip. A trip that would help Bob close the loop of a lifetime of memories. And I knew this would not be the usual portrait session where I interact directly with a subject. This time, I was there mostly as an observer, hoping to capture a few moments that could tell Bob’s story.

The connection between Bob and the Elsie Evans stretches back more than eighty years. In 1944, his father purchased the vessel from a friend and operated it as a ferry between Portobello and Port Chalmers. For many people in the area, the Elsie Evans is an important piece of local maritime history. And for Bob, it is an integral part of his own family history.

The boat glided through the calm waters of the harbour, and conversations ebbed and flowed among family and friends. Stories surfaced about growing up around the harbour, ferry crossings, old memories both beautiful and tragic, and of the characters that made up that community over the years.

Bob stood at the helm for a while, looking out as the harbourside road, jetties and houses passed by. He sat with family and recalled stories from those early days that only existed in memories, and he referred to old photographs and notes kept in a folder. Listening to those conversations, Bob's strong connection to the peninsula and harbour was evident.

Family members listened to Bob’s stories with smiles, laughter, and appreciation as memories continued to fill in details, as stories came back to life. The boat provided the catalyst to bring out long forgotten memories over the next hour or so.

At one point, I was able to briefly ask Bob about what represented his proudest achievement in life, and without hesitation he replied, it was meeting his wife. He then recounted how a chance meeting in Lyttelton led to a conversation, a relationship, and eventually a lifetime and a family together.

Bob’s portrait was captured aboard the Elsie Evans as it cruised from Portobello and up the Otago Harbour. Surrounded by close family and friends, it was going to be the last ride on a boat that had many decades of memories, connection, and meaning for him.