I’d like to say we had the party of all parties but in fact … we had many parties of all parties!
We started in Marigot Bay, St Lucia with a fabulous World ARC Women celebration – cocktails by the pool with twenty totally awesome women. The fleet left Marigot Bay and sailed in a ‘Parade of Sail’ single line formation, from the shortest boat to the longest, up to Rodney Bay. We were warmly welcomed to the dock by a live jazz band and plenty of rum punch … a raucous party ensued. A very brief respite before the final celebratory dinner – as each boat was congratulated, I found myself close to tears. This journey has been life changing and it’s hard to describe the gamut of emotions as we say goodbye and at the same time, think about what the next year holds for us.
I was thrilled that the day after the dinner, ten of us had booked to stay in a beautiful villa for a couple of days … a lovely way to wind down and close the 2023-24 rally in style. Many of the boats in the fleet will do a little more cruising in the Caribbean before being hauled out for the hurricane season – after which, some will spend next year’s sailing season in the Grenadines. We are hoping that we will meet again this time next year when we finally complete our circumnavigation and return to Grenada in March 2025. A long way ahead but truly, a goal that will keep me going across the Indian Ocean!
We have now returned to the UK – very cold and a bit damp but a joy to see family and friends. Our only sadness is that Jo, Chris’s wonderful Mum, died last week. She leaves a huge hole in our lives … an incredibly special woman and a role model for me.
We will only spend ten days in the UK before heading to France. It’s been more than twenty months since we have been to our home there and I’m really looking forward to our visit. It will be a short trip, only three weeks or so, as we will need to get ourselves back to Australia and onto Mistral to start our journey back toward home. As one adventure finishes, another one begins. We are making the most of every minute.
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