I stumbled onto an interesting website (www.trimaran-naga.com) designed and maintained by Jack and Chrissi Serini, an American couple who started an around the world voyage from Trinidad in 2003 aboard a trimaran just a little bigger than Dad's. Interestingly in 2005 they made the same voyage from New Zealand to Fiji as Dad at about the same time of year. On their web page they attest to the fact that this can be and often is a perilous voyage.
This painting done by a friend of Nagas owner stirs the imagination as to what Dads trip from New Zealand to Fiji must have been like. (Note the watery serpent rising as a wave over the trimaran)