1 Dec 2017

Today has been a good day. After a week of feeling abit down after Chae left to bring Waterhorse home, I think I have finally shaken my slump and FOMO, which I suffer from majorly…!

I woke up this morning to an email from Behan Gifford, of Sailing Totem. If you don’t know who she is, you should (Sailingtotem.com). I have been following other sailing blogs and families doing what we are planning for around a year now, and she was one of the first women I read about. She and her husband have been sailing the world for 9 + years with their 3 kids. She is so well versed in this lifestyle that she has written a book about it!

The book was the first thing I went and bought when I finally decided that Chae wasn’t completely mad and there might be something to this vagabond lifestyle. I have religiously followed her blog and social media updates, living vicariously through the families’ adventure, so to have a personal email from her to me was pretty special for me!

I had contacted her husband about sail advice as he was/is a sailmaker, and had been emailing with him when she decided to get in touch herself with me. I was stunned, and overwhelmed that someone I consider a celebrity in the way of life that I am choosing would just email me to say she’s there for if I need any advice or help.

This is what I love about the sailing community. People genuinely want to be there to support and help you for the love of nothing more than the life and the thrill of it.

Happy wake up complete!

I then spent a couple of hours with my friend Carl who is all things amazing when it comes to anything web based. The man is a star. He’s is helping me to set up this website and blog/social media/all other things internet. And when I say set up, I mean he is basically doing it and then will run me though it as I am not the hero when it comes to online things. It was great spending the time with him, seeing their awesome new house and being filled with a sense of confidence in his ability to create something amazing for me to be able to share our new life with everyone.

Athletics day for my middle boy was next, quite cute watching a bunch of 5 and 6 year olds running around, trying to get running races sorted and kids ‘discus’, ‘shot-put’ and other sports they are introduced to at this age. It was special as I wont be attending another athletics day for a while if things all go to plan!

Then the best part of my day. Picking up my kids to take them, plus an extra one, to the beach for the afternoon. There is something leveling about the beach for our family. All of the fighting and irritation melts away once we arrive and I am left with nothing but happy children. As I watched them play in the surf I looked out to the channel between us and Rangitoto, where soon Chae will be sailing our new home through.

I have had quite a bit of contact with him today, which has also helped to make the day special. I think I underestimated the challenge of not having him around for so long. No back up buddy to help me with the kids and all the other things that come with them.

They have wind again, and are sailing and making good time. We all check his track every few hours on Predict Wind, and enjoy seeing his progress to home. The kids all miss him terribly.

Waterhorse on her way home. Dec 12th, with good wind obviously from the speed!

My day has been finished with 2 of my wonderful girlfriends coming over with their children for drinks and kids water balloon fights and spa time. We had 8 kids here, and man did they have a blast!!

I also got to talk to the new owner of our darling dog, Bosco. He is going to live with the brother of a great friend of mine and we Face Timed his wife to show her their new pet. It was so nice to see her and how excited she is to have Bosco, as we have been concerned about what was going to happen to him and the cats. The cats are another story and have yet to have had a solution found….

I am going to miss this, the closeness of my special friends and the kids long time buddies being just around the corner. I know that we will all make new friends, but there is something to be said about good old friends.

So today has been a good day. A grounding day in this time of extreme change. I am off to bed, tired and sun kissed, but feeling very blessed, with one or 2 final checks on Predict-Wind before sleep!!!