La Ciotat

Set off from Marseille this morning at 0815. Before leaving I took the lines for a French guy who arrived next to us. He had come from Frioul marina and said the wind had been at 55kts yesterday. The decision to leave that anchorage gets better & better. While I was doing some stuff to the boat I had noticed that it was 38kts in our port which is really sheltered.

I got up at 0600 to do some stuff & wash all the yellow mud that comes out of the rain off the boat. By 0800 the sun had gone in but it was nice as we went out of the harbour with the mega yacht, Zenji following us. After 5 miles of motoring South into a gentle wind in the lee of Marseille we came out into a really big swell left over from yesterday and headed east between some islands. Mayuri had gone back to bed feeling ill, but even my stomach was being churned by it.

After a few hours the wind veered just enough to make a starboard tack and it rained a little - covering the boat in the yellow mud again. The veiws were really nice and for a full hour I sailed through a shoal of thousands of jellyfish. They were that thick I thought they might block up the engine cooling water intake.

I intended to anchor tonight as the wind is light but as we came into the bay riding the huge swell, the anchorages at both sides had big crashing waves as the water shallowed. So at 1345 we headed for the marina. I hadn't looked at it in the book as I didn't intend to use it and so hadn't noticed that there aren't many (any) visitor berths, but after berthing four times in different spots, the guy was finally happy at 1435 and after photocopying every bit of paper & certificate I had & taking my telephone number he took our 28 euros :-(

Always the bulb at the top that goes!

About 10 minutes after writing that last entry, I noticed the navtext had started working. It had only been able to tell the weather in Algeria up to now, but was now saying that where we were was expecting f8 winds with severe gusts - thanks Bruce & Caroline for giving us that!

Half an hour later we were motoring across the bay in really gentle conditions as the wind had died to 10kts, towards Marseille Vieux port - stuff the budget. We squeezed in into the outer breakwater as a massive cruise ship came out at the same time, Mayuri worrying when he pipped his horn 4 times - 5 would have mean't he wanted to know where we were going!

We berthed on the CTNL pontoon at 2120 - I even got to test out my new stern light! The Scott lookalike who had been anchored behind us in the bay (and who had to move when we nearly dragged onto him - he did park right behind us!) was already tied up and came out and in his broken English said "you will get better sleep here". He was a charter skipper and had been reseting his anchor single handed in the day, and taking his charter guests backward & forward in the dingy to the island, so if he thought it was a good idea then it was good enough for me.

I didn't think the exhaust leak had been too bad the other day as after 6 hours of motoring the water was still below the foorboards, although the space under the bed was full, but after the 1 hour motor across the bay there was the same amount again, so it really had been a good idea to come into port. Another 102 Euros and we have a new exhaust pipe that's cured it!

At 22 Euros a night I thought the wind better be bad now - and it is. Even the guy anchored to the steel pegs is on the same pontoon as us now. It is nice here though, right in the centre of town and with a 37 million euro mega yacht -Zenji - across the harbour from us, we're in good company!

Hoping to leave Wednesday but will only be another shortish hop before the next lot of wind comes through on Thursday.

Frioul

Our second day of the Med.
Set off yesterday just after 0900. The wind was forcast to be Southerly becoming Southeasterly by tea time, but was already SE when we set off - a mistake?

We sailed across the gulf de Fos for an hour or so and then started the engine to make some progress South toward the exit of the bay - 10 miles away from Navy service. The wind had aleady increased from 13kts to 20ish and as we passed the entrance to Etang de Bouc I was having thoughts about going back as we struggled to make 2kts under engines into the chop. Mayuri wanted to carry on so we did and after another few hours, we made it to the sea.

We turned East, cutting behind the two Westerly cardinals to save some distance & time which took us across the shallow areas that created some quite big waves. We hoped to be able to make a starboard tack as we turned East, but as usual the wind swung around keeping 0 & 30 degrees which is not enough for us (or any cat?) to sail.

Mayuri had helmed for quite a while but decided to go to bed after she started feeling queasy. I carried on plodding East for another few hours, sometimes unfurling the genoa when the wind veered a little, but always with the main reefed & the staysail pulled tight down the centre to the mast. The reef was tied in by hand as when I came to do it, the line had been pulled through the boom. The dingy also had to be re-tied as it started to blow off in the wind which had increased to a steady 22kts, gusting 26. Luckily the auto pilot was behaving which made things easier.

The waves seemed oversized for the wind, and boyunced us around a lot as they seemed to comes from all angles (forward!). I was quite enjoying it when Mayuri came up and said it was wild, got thrown to the floor and then went back to bed. I looked in on her a little later but her head was under the pillow as the spray was coming in through the bedroom door.

The wind eased as we came into the lee of Frioul and we headed into the anchorage. After dropping the anchor in 10m and letting out what seemed like loads of warp we went in & looked at the key and found we only had 30m out - which isn't really enough, but after setting off tired from the last few days of finishing the boat and then 8 hours of sailing to cover 20 odd miles I decided it would be ok as the wind was only 8kts in the good shelter (joke!)

After a hot shower and tea I slept until 0330 when the wind picked up and there were lots of strange twanging noises coming from the warps. I had to keep sitting up to see another boat near us to check we weren't dragging. I went back to sleep at around 6ish and only quickly got up at 0900 to turn off the anchor light - noticing that either we had dragged or the boat next to us had moved forward while I was asleep.

I got back out of bed slightly more quickly at 1030 when I rolled over and noticed a big jagged rock out of the window that shouldn't have been there. As I burst through the doors still pulling on my shorts the wind was at 30kts and we were very lucky.

A few other boats came and anchored for the day, usually straight in front of us - now that I had 40m of warp out. The wind stayed at 20-30kts all day causing a few other boats to drag - and nearly hit the same rock as us.

I just wanted to sleep, but a problem that we had found when we arrived was bugging me - the port bilge was full of seawater - so I had a look and found the exhaust pipe had split. It was already looking a bit tired but the pressure of the waves between the hulls the day before had maybe finished it off. Water had been shooting up through the cockpit drains which I've never seen before and while Mayuri was in the bathroom jets of water were squirting out of the sink plughole - one of them causing janix to sick up a big hairball just like a real cat - which has saved me a job in a few weeks when it would have blocked!

At 1500 we dragged again and in total have reset about 5 times. We motored around to the next bay to see if we could find any more shelter, but there wasn't and with the wind at 36kts we struggled to even get back into the old bay.

We've reset again now & it seems to be holding, although it's going to be a long night - sleeping in the saloon for a better view of the rock transits! Just one other boat here and he's been knocking steel pegs into the rock all day and is securely tied up to them.

Cast Off

All went well yesterday and she's floating just like she should be!

It feels so good to be on the water again. Beautiful views and gentle rocking to put us to sleep last night. (Although we crashed out anyway as it was a over a 12hour day of non-stop activity to get everything ready for today. We were both shattered when we crawled into bed.)

We're headed towards a small island called Frioul today which is about 20 miles away and should take us about 5-7 hours, Porquerolles the day after (same kind of distance I think).

All is well. Weather lovely. We're about to have some toast, and lines are due to be cast at 9am sharp.

And We Have Countdown...

Only 2 more hours to go before the crane arrives to move Janix and put her back into the water after almost 9 months drying out. Tomorrow morning we plan to be away first thing and sailing at last.

Shane has gone to the chandlery to get….something. (I forget what. He did tell me.)

The car was sold a couple of days ago to our contingency buyer. The French lads didn’t show again. They must have found out just how expensive it was to import a car and thought better of it. So Shane went to see the German man who apparently lives on a ship and has four cars parked around it already being used as storage space.

Anyway, so Shane’s walking the 500m there and back which should give me enough time to write a couple of emails, go to the office and connect, come back and take in the bedcovers that I washed this morning (no mean feat - they’re king sized and I still struggle to hand wash and wring them all effectively. Yes, they’ve been supplied from another favourite source - Terri Provisions (UK) Ltd!).

Still left to do - washing and cleaning the boat inside and out. Shane still seems to have several items on his list, not sure what they all are…I have the ultra important tasks of course. Making pasta for our lunch tomorrow whilst we’re out at sea (no car therefore no fresh bread - we did get some from our shopping trip on Monday whilst we still had the car but it’s all gone now. Shane says we can’t do any more shopping for another month now because the bill came to 90 euros!).

It’s been nice here, but it’s definitely time to go….Shane’s back (got a lift there from a Frenchman and then ran back!). And so I have to go now as time is of the essence….

Finally booked back in the water on Thursday 22nd May at 1600.

I’ve still got a long list of stuff to finish but the main things are all done, especially as I just sold the car, which could have been a hassle otherwise.

Not much crossed off the list today though. The wind is a constant 30kts gusting 40kts so I’m not up for going up the mast to change the anchor light with a new led bulb or even putting up the genoa. The rest of the day has been spent finishing a good book I started yesterday - Michael Crichtons Airframe, hoovering up the thick black dust that we’re constantly filling up with from the strong northerly wind or enjoying the novelty value of watching the ammeter on the solar panel circuit I fitted yesterday (and went back & changed as it was faulty this morning) as it flickers between 5 & 9A as the clouds whiz past. Sad life - but still better than work!

Week 1 Results

The sun is out again now and I can see blue sky through the clouds. The weather here is so weird. We seem to get sunshine, clouds, wind, rain and then sun again alternatively all within the same day. It was cold and raining hard earlier this morning.

Shane checked the weather yesterday and we’ve got some wind and a lot of rain due over the next few days so we’re staying here another week probably. The main jobs are all done but there are little odds and ends to do and we want our first sail to be in nice weather.

I quite like it here. The toilets and showers are nice and clean and that’s my main priority! We also have water and electric and we can see the canal from our boat - what more could anyone ask for?

Today Shane has spent all day transferring his CD’s onto his laptop to set up play lists. So I’ve had snippets of music to listen to whilst I continued to reorganise the galley lockers and pack away spices and lentils into airtight containers and give everything a good wipe down at the same time.

This boat is amazing. It’s like Sport Billy’s bag. (Do you remember Sport Billy?) It seems to absorb everything we’ve brought onto it like a sponge. I had initially been concerned about finding room to pack away all my belongings and the food we brought with us. I purposely kept it on the light side as far as possible, but I was still worried. Being on a boat, size and weight are both big concerns. There’s no room for sentimentality - if something’s not going to be of immediate use, there’s no place for it on the boat. It’s got to go. You can call it being ruthless, or you can call it living in the Now and keeping your life fresh, clear and relevant - it’s not an easy thing to do, but it’s a habit I’m trying hard to cultivate. (Shane would say not hard enough probably as he keeps making jokes (half serious ones) about me throwing out my books!)

Anyway Janix is very helpful in this respect. She‘s got lots of lockers that I’ve been able to neatly pack away all the dry food we’ve brought with us. This has been quite useful as we haven’t been shopping since we got here and for the last few days I’ve been so grateful for Indian recipes that have allowed me to make a nice meal for us every day even without fresh veg.

(Shane always frowns when I tell how amazing Janix is in letting us accomodate all our goods out of sight. To him this is almost a bad quality, as it means it's easier to get weighted down without even realising it.)

We’re due to go shopping on Monday before we give up the car. We put up a couple of for sale signs in the car on Tuesday and have had a lot of interest. A group of young French lads (one carrying a archers bow) have agreed to buy the car from us, and if this falls through we’ve got a contingency sale to an older English-speaking gentleman planned.

Shopping is always a big event for us. It’s usually the highlight of the week, and uses up the full day (especially when you don’t have a car!).

In the meantime, we can boast some Silver Star days this week (no money spent at all), although we forfeited the week’s Gold Star Award as we did head out to the chandlery a couple of days ago to buy a deck gland for the Solar Panel fittings.

So all in all, results for the first week back are good. Unpacking and cleaning mostly done. Minimal Spend. Several big jobs completed by the Captain -new head, solar panels fitted, wired and now providing free juice, new battery installed, new starter motor fitted, new Navtex wired up and receiving weather reports (I finally found out what the new red button does above the Nav Table which I was forbidden to touch under any circumstances whatsoever - it lights up the Navtex so you can read incoming messages). Also the dingy has been fixed (after being torn whilst testing the solar panel fittings - the sound of plastic being ripped and air fizzing out is not a happy noise).

Pleased with my car For Sale signs (if not the time it took me to make them) the Skipper has rewarded me with new assignments also. Apart from being Head Chef I now have responsibility for providing additional ancillary services requiring a non-technical and/or an artistic incline. Holding and pulling cables and wires through at the right angles whilst Shane has been doing the wiring has earned me the dubious title of The Apprentice from Shane. More importantly though, I can proudly say I have been assigned the role of Chief Mosquito Net Maker with independent authority to design and fit myself. I am quite pleased about this.

Yesterday I finished the first one for the Saloon doors (adapted from some net curtains sourced from Shane’s Mums Provisions UK Ltd) and testing in the evening proved the first model to be a success.

The new toys we brought with us are also big favourites on the boat, making it contentious for me as to what the best thing on the boat now is. The pressure cooker is brill and cooks rice and lentils in record times saving us much gas. Shane is enamoured with his new handheld 780w Black and Decker Dustbuster which he happily uses every day after packing away his tools. (Don’t tell him, but I’ve ended up using the dustpan and brush when he was outside because I couldn’t be bothered to get out the hoover and plug it in etc.) To his credit though it does seem to be making a difference and the carpet in the saloon looks much newer having had the power of the hoover applied to it several times.

Privately I still think my large non-stick frying pan with it’s glass cover and double handles is the best thing on the boat,......followed closely by....
- the pressure cooker,....(though I can't fit them both onto the little Vanessa cooker we have at the same time. Which is okay whilst we've got plenty of water to wash a double set of pans, but recipes will need rethinking when we're out anchored and into water-rationing again)...
- then my new black and pink Karrimor Sandals (comfortable for long walks, keeps me cool, dries easily when inevitably made wet, and can reasonably be worn with shorts, jeans or a skirt - a single item of footwear for all occassions, how amazing is that?!-though not allowed on the deck as the soles may mark it) and
- my Casio Sports watch (water-resistant, has an alarm and hourly chimes so I can monitor how productively and effectively I'm using my time, a light so I can see at night without needing to turn on all the electrics, and a stopwatch for timing exercise drills, and dual time so I don't have to use my brain when considering whether it's a reasonable time to contact someone in England). (Both these personal items bought in Nottingham sales at unbelievable bargain prices - I love bargains!).
- Oh, and of course (quite essential) the new water filter jug. That's pretty neat and saves us from having to buy bottled water or having to drink horrible tasting water running through our new hoses from the boatyards mains water supply. (We do have an in-built filter below the sink, but looks like this isn't as effective as it might be).


Yes, you're right. My priorities seem slightly misaligned from the Skippers. He's the main man. You'll get all your technical info from him. Without his driving force on the priorities, I wouldn't be here in the first place.

But seeing as he's concerning himself with the Main Things, I might as well concentrate on the creature comforts and the more simple matters that bring joy to life...(or mine anyway!).

Oh-uh. I’ve been writing too long again. A quick dash now necessary to the Capitanierre’s office before it closes to see if I can get internet connection…..

Solar panels up at last & producing power. The other jobs are nearly all finished, but it's wind & rain here until at least next Wednesday, so we'll stay with the mosquitos for a little longer.

Return to Port St Louis

Finally we are here on the boat. Our luggage has now been stowed away (albeit some only temporarily until further reorganisation tomorrow) and we are fed, watered, showered and safely locked into the saloon away from the hungry swarms of mosquitos outside that seem to find us so irresistible.

Shane is very tired and has resorted to solo scrabble until we can legitimately call it a night and go to bed. Time seems to have stood still today and we’ve lost all orientation of days, hours and minutes since we got into the car and started our journey back to the world of boats and sailing….

We left Caroline waving us off in Scunthorpe on Sunday morning 0845hrs and headed (detouring through Newark) for the south coast of England where we had a ferry booked at 1600hrs to take us from Dover to Dunkerque on the Norfolk Line. Our red Toyota Estate was loaded with various goodies - Solar Panels with newly wielded steel fittings, a new boat battery, new starter motor, new head (brand sparkling new!), new laptop and charts, all the food left in our cupboards from the Bulwell house, swapped books, summer clothes and my new wide-brimmed beige summer hat (with a brown satin ribbon and white polka dots).

The sun and blue skies stayed with us all the way treating us to luscious views of beautiful English countryside. Rolling green fields decorated sparsely with grazing horses, sheep and cows and lined fore, side and rear with trees and bushes of every hue of green imagineable. Interspersed periodically were fields of incredible vibrant yellow rapeseed, and then again a return to rich green carpet that seemed so perfectly laid out across the land. Perfect green hedges sectioning off different shades, forests of broccoli-like trees in the far distance, sprinkles of colour on bushes and trees closer to us heavy with pink and white blossoms. To top it off, we could see bunny rabbits hopping on the grass banks, their long ears flopping as they bounced in and out of sight…

I knew it was happening again already…I’ve been here before….

Last time it took longer. Last time, there was so much more going on that it was several months into the adventure before I’d awakened to this daily beauty. Last time was the first time we’d sold up and left Nottingham, supposedly for good...

Yes, last time there was so much more going on - so much more to worry about. We’d given up house and home, belongings, friends, family - and headed to Plymouth to live temporarily on a sailing school boat and still had to learn how to sail for a start!

Familiarity is truly a source of comfort. Having done this give-up-house-and-home thing once before, I was more at ease this time round. I’ve learnt that the tighter we try to hold on to things, people, places, events, the more we stifle our own lives and sense of freedom. The more likely we are to lose what we love and desire the most. To live, is to let go. And vice versa. To love, is to let go. And vice versa.

So I let go of all my worries. My fears. My insecurities. I let them all fall away behind me as we sped along in the car towards sunnier climes…I let myself enjoy the beauty of this incredible planet that is our home. (How lucky we are that Earth is such a beautiful place!) And I let myself enjoy the knowledge that soon this vision would be transformed into stretches of golden beaches to stroll along and warm aqua-marine waters to swim in….. and hours upon hours upon hours for me to spend freely on study and meditation whilst Shane slept in adoration of the Mediterranean sun! (And maybe some yoga and kicking drills too if the beaches turned out to be as isolated as we’d hoped they’d be!!!)

It wasn’t easy, mind. Keeping this state of ease , I mean. My mind kept flicking back. Not to spreadsheets and exception reports and impossible deadlines as usual! This time to the people that I was leaving behind. The love, generosity and kindness that we’d been showered with so liberally in every way. I wanted to take them all with me! So that tomorrow I could wake up and call and see them again, and share the happiness with them. Share more smiles and laughter. Share my sorrows and thoughts. Share my life with them…

But there I caught myself again! Living in the past and the future! And missing this amazing scenery that was unfolding in miraculous glory right before my eyes as we sped along in the car. Who says that miracles don’t happen? They do. Every day. And they did for me on Sunday. I managed to keep switching my focus every time I lost it, from melancholy memory and worry, to the Here and Now. After all, if all those that I love and cherish could somehow be in the car with the both of us too (it would have to be a gigantic car!), they would be telling me also to enjoy the beauty, enjoy the freedom, enjoy the moment!

So I did. Although Shane probably won’t tell you it was like that.

He’s fallen asleep now, bless him. Yes, the reason it was probably less glorious for him was that he had all the driving to do. My superhero husband is the one that does all the organising and arranging. Whilst the last month had been a roller-coaster ride for me in terms of all the endings, tying up and goodbyes I had with work and various family, friends, colleagues, training pals and spiritual sangha, Shane was diligently busy in a frantic world of his own making this whole adventure happen.

Since returning from a month of boatwork in France, he’d continued with the various preparations necessary, even managing to fit in making a set of rope ladders for us to use off the bow of the boat when we’re beached in shallow waters (although these now need further development work following testing on Daniel and Caroline’s willow tree which revealed some entertaining design flaws) (Shane fell off!).

There had been a host of difficulties with the cars (linked to me regrettably), and critically the Estate we were due to drive to France in broke down just days before we were due to leave.

Somehow, he had managed to resolve all of these problems and still remain sane (or as sane as he was previously anyway), and now he had virtually a thousand miles to drive over the next 24 hours to reach Janix. His focus remained on the task at hand (I think), whilst I nodded in and out of happy oblivion as we sped (at 60mph) through the glorious English countryside.

Reaching Dover with two hours to spare was a happy event, moreso because last summer this had been our home for nigh on two months. The White Cliffs evoked a certain anticipation in both of us. There were some happy (and some trying!) memories of this place, and I felt excited and happy to back. Shane sat in the car guarding our sailing treasures, whilst I walked along the pebble beach littered with sunbathers and narrowly avoided being caught by the incoming tide. Once again I was in a distracted state making last minute farewell calls to family before the mobile phone battery died.

I spent some final English currency so we could enjoy ice-cream one last time (there’s no freezer on Janix) whilst we looked out across the calm English Channel with France hiding in the mist behind it. How many hours and days we’d spent here last summer staring out across this same short stretch of water, frustrated that we couldn’t seem to get across it…..

And then the exhilaration when we finally did achieve it! (Or Shane did anyway. My experience consisted mainly of timing drinks, my mini-sandwiches and ginger biscuits alternatively at regular half-hourly intervals and falling asleep when I should have been looking out) (it was the seasickness tablets - they make you drowsy!).

The ferry trip itself took almost two hours and was huge fun for me. The sea was calm, the sun shining hard on us all and the ferry was massive! My only previous ferry experience didn’t compare and I was delighted to see just how luxuriously furnished it was inside too. We sat in the restaurant at the front of the ferry and Shane put his head down for a short while after getting bored of making Star Trek jokes (he spotted both Captain Picard and Toovak on board), whilst I salivated at the aroma of the Indian curry that was on the menu and the sight of all the wealthier passengers around us enjoying various delicious looking meals.

We had already eaten one set of homemade sandwiches in the car, and a £15 meal was not permitted now that we were back in budget mode. I knew it was the right decision, and that soon desires such as these would leave me just as they did last year once we got in the full swing of boat-budgeting. Still, it didn’t help at that particular moment to see that the American family sitting to the right of us had all had Indian meals but had left their onion bhaji’s completely untouched.

What a terrible waste.

Although the sea looked quite calm from high up where we were on the sixth deck of the ferry, we could see that smaller yachts enjoying a day’s sail had keeled right over. One of them had it’s bow diving in and out of the water completely. Shane asked me to remember that when we were out on Janix and the sea appeared to be rough in this fashion, in reality it was relatively calm just as we could see right now.

That’s when I realised I didn’t feel sea-sick on the ferry! This was a good omen!!!


The next 12 hours of our journey however were, as expected, less delightful on the whole purely due to the sheer distance we were covering.

As we left the ferry, I noticed that all the ferry officials were smiling at us and it seemed such a rare sight that I thought this too must be a good omen! (I only ever acknowledge good omens. I’ve decided that bad ones upset me so I regard them as mere superstition and not worth investing any belief in. The good ones make me happy and more likely to experience further good fortune, so I‘m generous in my emotional investment in these!)

The Auto-Route Planner has a slight timing delay which meant we took a wrong turn virtually immediately on leaving the ferry terminal. There was no serious harm done, but it added an additional 10 miles onto our journey, and more importantly to our time on the road.

Shane felt completely at home driving on the right side of the road - hardly surprising as he’s done this trip twice before already.

It was 1900hrs when we started out through the French country side, and I felt even more enthralled at the beauty of our planet. Somehow, the fact that we were in France again, continuing our unfinished adventure from last Summer through the French Canals, made the landscape even more charming and I couldn’t help feeling a growing sense of excitement. Everything looked so delightfully French and my imagination revelled at the sight of the quaint French farm houses I could see in the distance…. undoubtedly filled with both happy and melancholy French families….maybe sitting around a dinner table eating supper ….making talking about this and that…all in beautifully flawlessly fluent French.

I love France! And I love French! The language is such a pleasure to listen to, almost as if the French sing their conversations to one another.

And as we drove on, it seemed that nature seemed to agree with me too. Even the tree trunks bordering the fields seemed to glow a dusky golden under the setting sun in celebration of this huge beautiful country.
Shane pointed out the various stops we had made previously whilst motoring through the canals last year. Bethune, Cambrais, Rheims,….it had taken us days on the canals to cover the distance we were doing in hours now in the car.

We were heading to Lyon as a first stop. If we made it to there by the end of the night, then he would stop and have a sleep so we only had 5 more hours to drive the next day.

As it turned out, it took us into the small hours of the morning getting to Lyon. I drifted in and out of heavy dreams trying to get comfortable in my passenger seat, whilst Shane silently drove on without complaining, sometimes pointing out landmarks that we could just about see in the dark night .

We stopped at petrol stations a couple of times to fill up and I was so grateful to find that they had nice clean toilets just like in the big Services in England. I think the highlight of the journey for Shane was when he found the French provided windscreen wipers (big squeegies on a long handle) at the petrol pumps and he was able to clean all his windows of the car. That seemed to make him really happy!

It was a very long drive though. We were driving from the top of the country right down to the bottom. Even I didn’t feel entertained making my usual (probably stale) joke asking “are we nearly there yet?“ Squirming around in my passenger seat trying to get comfortable seemed an impossible task and I couldn’t bear the thought of being stuck in the car until tomorrow afternoon. I couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for Shane who was doing the actual driving and wasn’t at liberty to nod off every hour or so to relieve fatigue.

Towards the end of the journey even Shane started to feel very tired and had to drink Red Bull and slap himself a few times to keep himself alert! We continued to try to stay interested in locations as we passed them, but tiredness sucks the joy out of everything and as the night fell conversation and interest waned to even scarcer levels.

I also discovered that I am now far behind Shane in the French vocabulary, as this time round, he was correcting me on the meanings of all the signs I was trying to translate! (Hmmm. I will have to swat up I think!)

Finally we neared the South Coast as Shane announced that “Morning has broken” and the sky started to lighten. We had only seen dark glistening reflections as we’d driven past the Soane and the great Rhone, but the mountains were unmistakable as they suddenly loomed forth out the skies announcing their presence with silent majesty.

We exited the final toll road with much relief and as we drove into Port-St-Louis I realised just how exhausted Shane was when he suggested we have a sleep on the boat before we unload the car! This might be an all-time first for him.

We got to the boat at 0700hrs. Nearly a full 24 hour trip!

Shane didn’t sleep properly in the end, he only had a couple of hours before he was up and about again. Unloading, tidying and even fitting the new toilet before we had any tea.

Finally we are here though. Months of planning, organising, working, wishing, dreaming and doing, and finally we are here.

As I walked to the shower block past the rows and rows of yachts of every type and size parked up, I felt so at home to be around boats again. Suddenly Nottingham, work and the house in Bulwell seemed a million miles away not just a thousand, and home is here amongst the boats and their owners who enjoy and suffer the same fate as us in this world of sun and sea, of winds and tides, of boats and adventures, of giving up luxuries and creature comforts to live on the water, to stay in a small confined space on a budget and food and water rations. A life of restrictions and freedom. A sailor’s life for me.

Shane has now woken up again after an unplanned 3 hour nap, and wants marmite on toast for a supper snack. One of his usual boating favourites!

Tomorrow, there’s solar panel and starter motor work to help him on apparently. But mainly for me, there is lots more cleaning (yes, call me sad if you like but there is a streak of Monica in me!) and also organising practical locations for my clothes and the spices and flour we’ve brought with us. Emails to family and friends and some studying as a treat if I’m super-efficient with my time. The working out and yoga routine will have to wait until the boat is fully cleaned and organised.

The patter of light rain has stopped but I can hear the wind howling outside. It no longer unsettles me as it did in the beginning. Maybe it will blow harder tomorrow, or maybe the sun will bake us instead. Who knows. We are led completely by the elements once again. But that’s fine. Somehow it all seems to make life more real in a way. More precious.

Yes, we’re well and truly here….My father-in-law once told me that the journey was the destination. I’ve finally realised just how right he is. We’re here. And the adventure is already underway. All that remains now, is to live each moment fully, whatever it brings...