Reflections on Water
Almost 12 months ago, we were busy planning a road trip through France to La Rochelle and the Cote d'Azur to look at some yachts on the market. Our long time dream needed only one ingredient to get it off the ground and that was a boat. But Craig had had a difficult couple of years with the loss of both parents and with work challenges, so he was procrastinating and essentially incapable of making private world decisions. So me being me, I just went ahead and made arrangements to look at several boats around France with the hope of getting Craig re-inspired to pursue his dream. Apart from having a fabulous couple of weeks on the road, we did look at some lovely boats and got to see through the Beneteau factory and workshop just outside of La Rochelle.
It was on our way back, heading home to Weybridge to enjoy New Year's celebrations with friends at the British Volunteer, that we got a call from Berthon in Lymington that there was a boat coming in that we might be interested in. Without anything better to do for a couple of days, we headed down to check her out and its true to say, I fell in love with her immediately. Yes, she is a little bigger than what we had planned on, but she is elegant, has lovely lines and as someone said to us....she carries herself well. So, we made an offer and freaked out when that offer was accepted. Didn't truly expect that, as I genuinely made the offer just to get Craig motivated. But it came together beautifully and Craig got a yacht just in time for his birthday!
With a boat in the pocket, 2018 then kicked off with a flurry of activity. I spent numerous hours trawling through chandlery catalogues ordering safety equipment etc. Love those shops!! We also engaged a private instructor to come spend several days with us on the boat to help us learn her idiosyncrasies. Those days were generally spent on the Solent in all sorts of conditions from snow to gale force winds! I must say, that first couple of months was not what I had in mind when I agreed to this journey. I had thought blue skies, bikinis and warm waters!! But despite freezing conditions and snow, it was worth it. Our confidence built and our courage to really kick this thing off was assured.
So here we are now at the end of our first season of cruising having not only sailed across the English Channel, but having also crossed the Bay of Biscay and sailing down the Portuguese coastline...all of which are considered to be pretty difficult cruising areas. We also managed to avoid getting blown away in Hurricane Leslie which proved to be the worst storm in living memory...ripping up the coast and hitting Lisbon with 200km/h winds. We had several nights at sea and we have been accompanied at various times by dolphins, a whale and even a bait ball along with all its large predator fish and birds! The night skies out there are beyond words and bring back memories of those big night skies from my childhood on the farm.
It has been a huge learning curve for me particularly, but also for Craig. We have crawled around all of Inelsamo's hidey holes and have replaced broken things, serviced the engine, pulled down sails and numerous other jobs. But for this land girl, I have also learnt to trust this grand lady and that she knows what she is doing. I still get nervous when we heal over but I now know that she loves to sail and cruising along at 8ktns surfing the waves is good fun! I am also learning her 'music' and what all the different creaks and groans mean.
But beyond all of that, the quiet moments and silences have taught me new things about myself. Those spaces have allowed me to think about where I am at and what new goals and achievements might be awaiting me. For Craig this 12 months has been a rollercoaster with relocating from the UK back to Australia, setting up life on the boat, and transferring to Kazakhstan for his new job 28 days on-28 days off. It has kept us both extremely busy and there have been times when exhaustion has gotten the better of us. It hasn't all been sunshine and cocktails. There have been huge stresses in terms of relocation, work and family, and we have made some mistakes on the boat and while sailing. But the gods of the seas and heavens have been kind, and Inelsamo very patient.
We finish this year's sailing season with a real sense of accomplishment and pride and have learnt enormous amounts about ourselves, the ocean and Inelsamo. We have farewelled great friends, made new ones and are learning new languages (albeit badly!). So with gratitude for every sunrise and sunset we get to enjoy, we are now looking forward to and planning 2019, and hope you join us on that journey!!
