Chasing Summer Seas

I hope you will all forgive our tardiness in posting, the past couple of weeks has been a whirlwind of activity, excitement and exhaustion.  The weather has been unable to make up its mind, giving us some lovely warm days and some ice cold ones, but on the warm days I have been able to go to church more regularly, rejoin the bible study group, visit my parents, and even walk into town and to work on several occasions. It's been wonderful, but also tiring and I have been waking up in pain every morning.  By the time each day is over, all I have had the energy to do is nap, which doesn't lead to much blogging.😅 While I've been M.I.A. I have had a birthday! It was my first birthday as a married woman and I was spoilt from the moment I opened my eyes, with flowers and chocolates and little gifts presented throughout the day by my wonderful Husband! I visited my parents who gave us a little gas stove and a whistling kettle! I am so excited about them, because now when loadshedd...

Over the course of the past few weeks, as this goal has begun to take root and grow in our hearts and minds, we have been doing a lot of research into the latest technologies, watching vlogs of other yachties and generally learning more about what we will be looking for, and while the oyster 565 is truly our dream yacht, with its well designed interior and utility room, (one of may favorite features), there are many other yachts on the water with the same or similar specifications. and at a more reasonable price!  We have been looking into starting our journey on a smaller vessel, possibly on which has seen some use, but one that is obviously in good condition. We have been learning about how to tell if a yacht is a good find or not, and how to maintain any vessel. I have been learning about what I would want in a yacht and truly, safety, comfort and ease of sailing are paramount, but a $2.5million yacht may not be necessary to achieve this.  In all of this research I have bee...

This week has been full of adventures and misadventures.  Having gone for my constitutional stroll last Thursday, I began to feel far more capable of handling whatever life had to throw at me in the week to come.  On Saturday Christopher and I went for a walk into town and had a lovely repast at one of our favorite local coffee shops, which has recently changed hands and now serves that absolute BEST chips/fries in town!  It was truly lovely to be able to have a date day out on the town again, the weather was nice and warm and I even took off my cardigan not long into our stroll, and didn't even consider putting it back on, even when we were sitting still in the shade. That is truly my favorite comfortable temperature.  On our way home we bumped into a friend who kindly offered us a lift home, since we were going the same way, and it was lovely to catch up with him, even if it was only a brief encounter.  On Sunday I was feeling a bit drained, but still strong e...

The morning remains chilly but by 11am it's time to un-layer. The promised warm day was arriving. Myself and even more so, Monique are appreciating the unseasonal weather. We aren't even a month after our winter solstice and the weather apps predict 28°C on Saturday. On my short walk to work this morning my finger tips and ears weren't numbed by yesterday's cold. That morning, frosted lawns in the lower areas proved winters point. At 11°C this morning it was positively tropical. That is an important factor to stay aware of when sailing, especially long distances. You will experience localised weather systems that might surprise you. Even the most advanced weather prediction programs are sometimes less than accurate. I was sailing off the coast of Brazil. We were west of the Amazon Fan. The blue sky hosted high-pressure cumulus clouds. Flocks of flying sheep. I was not at the helm. I was servicing a winch on deck. I looked up and recognised that the grey cloud, intimidat...

One of the darker aspects of this pain situation, and indeed any ailment that leaves one confined to quarters, is the impact it has on ones mental health.  I have not written a blog post for a few days because I have been slogging through the mud and darkness of depression and hopelessness. The weather had been cold and windy, the sounds of the world outside becoming an overwhelming demonstration of my own insignificance as life continued around me. It sounds very dramatic, but it feels dramatic and overwhelming when one is in the midst of it.  And the cause is sometimes as simple as lack of purpose and exercise. Its not always possible to exercise and stay on track with chores and such, not when every move you make is full of pain, sometimes, taking painkillers and sleeping it off seems to be the only solution, and sometimes it is.  In my experience its really about finding that delicate balance between the physical, emotional and psychological pain, which is more danger...