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Free & BrEasy - Home from Home



Home from Home

The World ARC fleet is gathering in Cape Town for the start of the last leg across the Atlantic Ocean on Saturday 10th January. Many of the fleet stayed in Cape Town to celebrate Christmas and New Year in the wonderful Marina. By all accounts the firework display in the harbour was a spectacular way of ushering in the New Year. Roger and Annabelle stayed in Cape Town to supervise fitting the new boom on Free & Breasy, hauling out to repaint the hull with antifoul, replace zinc anodes that protect steel from rusting and a host of other jobs including repairing and testing both hydraulic ram units that have caused problems with the autohelm. Amazingly, they also found time to visit Victoria Falls, the West Coast National Park (with Eve’s footprints), drive around the spectacular countryside at Stellenbosch as well as meet some of Annabelle’s long lost family. Phew! However, their holiday was marred by someone cloning their bank card and then going on a very expensive shopping spree which caused them a great deal of trouble. Roger and Annabelle advise you to never let your card out of your sight as a card can be cloned just by rubbing on a concealed card reader in a pocket or on the side of a swipe machine. Apparently cards have even been cloned while in a wallet by a reader rubbed against the pocket containing the wallet– you have been warned! Michael went back to Scotland to spend the festive season with his family and meet all the new animals on the farm, while Alejandro went back to his family in Spain. His visit was meant to be a surprise for his family, totally ruined by announcing the visit in a previous blog. Sorry Alejandro!

Coming back to the Marina was yet another demonstration of the ‘family’ nature of the World ARC fleet. The short walk to the showers took hours as we ran through the gauntlet of boat crews all beaming big smiles and rushing over to shake hands and wish us Happy New Year. We spent hours exchanging stories of our holidays, whether in Cape Town or at home. Everyone looked happy and relaxed, and maybe it was just our imagination but possibly a few pounds heavier after the excesses of holidays. It is time to get back to sea and do some work!

Mind you going home to the family, although wonderful, was more stressful than anticipated. In some cases this was the first visit since leaving for St Lucia nearly 12 months ago and there was a certain amount of adjustment necessary to accommodate this ‘sea faring stranger’ who was temporally visiting and expecting the largess of the family to be laid out before disappearing for another three months! There were plenty of jobs that had accumulated in the 12 months so lots of opportunity to give a little back for the generosity of the family in allowing the sea farer to ‘live the dream’. Everyone asked ‘what was crossing two oceans like?’ It was difficult to put into words the experience of sailing a boat through the changing moods of the sea or the emotions kindled when arriving and leaving ports. It was easier to say that in 12 months, we visited 34 idyllic destinations in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans, any one of which could have been a ‘dream holiday’, with a little sailing thrown in!

Cape Town will hold many happy memories for us. The many parties on the boats were a particular feature. For instance, Avocet hosted an amazing evening with a traditional jazz band playing on the pontoon next to the boat, so that everyone was swaying with the music helped a little by lovely food and drinks. The many walks up Table Mountain and Lions Head were perfect for the energetic. One walk up to Maclears Beacon, from the beautiful Botanical Gardens at Kirstenbosch, went through the ominously named ‘skeleton gorge’ which was the only part not carefully cut into the hillside with steps or wooden walkways. Cape Town is surrounded by beautiful sea and mountain country side and great for touring in a hired car. There are extensive vineyards near to the city for wine connoisseurs’ (and their friends) to pay homage to Bacchus.  In the city, the Marina village and all its restaurants and shops are on our boat-step and a brisk walk or bus ride takes you to down town Cape Town with its markets and shops.

So little wonder that those of us returning to Cape Town from yuletide celebrations at home with our families had the distinct feeling that we were coming back to the World ARC family and home to Cape Town. Really, a Home from Home.


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