No Fun when there’s No Sun (or Sailing).

JUNE 2024 – SOUTH AFRICA.

Dear friends,

We have had a particularly wet week in the Western Cape, 4 days of non-stop rain. Unfortunately, water flooded into SV Knowind through a partially open hatch, so this weekend will be spent doing a big mopping-up operation, in between watching the tennis finals being played at Roland Garros, of course!

Reading all the Facebook sailing posts and blogs about sailing the Med right now, particularly Greece, is to be quite honest, depressing! This huge green monster is sitting quite firmly on my head! The owners of the guesthouse we are looking after for the winter, have just arrived in Venice after sailing around Greece and Croatia for the past few weeks. I am now fully comprehending how lucky we were to have the luxury (even though we worked bloody hard) of 6 months sailing in Greece in 2022, albeit illegally as our passports were stolen and my visa had expired………

Another factor is a looming birthday and I don’t know why but when I hit my sixties it suddenly dawned on me that time was running out rapidly. Growing up (as I am sure many will agree), 60 was ridiculously old, time to take up knitting and napping. Granted, nowadays grannies are learning to paraglide, paddleboard or parkrun, yet the fact that one is officially classed as a (gasp) “pensioner” is utterly perturbing!

I fear if we don’t cross oceans again soon, we might never do it. I need some motivating replies please:

• where are you sailing right now (let me live vicariously)

• would you be open to joining an informal rally from SA to Madagascar in 2025 and most of all

• please convince me that being 60 is NOT OLD!

Looking forward to reading your replies!

Pirate wench Nikki and Captain Mike.