10 Years!

December 11th, 2004

We can't believe it but its been ten years since we said our fond farewells and sailed away from Cape Town leaving the beautiful Table Mountain behind us.

Over this time, we have travelled 36,304 nautical miles (65,347 kilometres) visited countless harbours, bays, islands and atolls in 39 countries and met literally hundreds upon hundreds of some of the most amazing people, both local and those who are our cruising counterparts.

Our life has been hectic at times but interlaced with some of the most incredibly idyllic and peaceful anchorages most people only see in those beautiful glossy calendars or coffee table books.  

We have experienced local culture, ceremonies, costumes, dance, music and food, the latter where we've tasted the good, the bad and the unimaginable.  We've been welcomed into homes palatial and humble and cannot start to fathom how we'd ever repay some of this kindness.

We appreciate that this lifestyle is not for everyone but for those following in our wake, we can only promise that life will not be mundane; far from it.  And for anyone who thinks that they'd get bored while cruising, ha, there's no time for that!  Between checking in and investigating our new anchorage, hunting for provisions, fuel and spare parts, tasting the local fare, meeting the local inhabitants,  socialising with other cruising boats and of course, looking after the ever present, on-going boat maintenance and repairs, we so often just simply run out of time.  That old adage, "cruising is just fixing boats in exotic ports" is ever so true.  Definitely no time to feel any lassitude but oh so worth it!