A father was so determined to see his son for Christmas, he was not going to let border closures and a lack of available flights stop him - so he purchased a yacht and set sail to New Zealand.
Despite never having sailed solo before, Dimitry Pelevin, who embarked on the daring adventure from France, is now anchored in French Polynesia. He will make a stop in Tahiti, and then head to New Zealand to spend Christmas with his son.
"It was one of my dreams," he told The AM Show from his yacht on Thursday.
"It was a good way to get home because no flights were available when I was stuck in France."
However, Pelevin is no sailing novice. The father has his skipper license and roughly a decade of experience, including with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.
Pelevin said he will contact New Zealand health officials to receive instructions regarding his mandatory isolation period upon arrival.
"I'm missing [my son] so much. We've been separated because of the virus and I haven't seen him for nine months," he told The AM Show.
"I'm trying not to miss the Christmas holidays."
Watch the video above.
