Thank you and farewell England!
Arion's West Indian Adventure
Hermione & Douglas Pattison
Tue 27 Oct 2015 09:26
All of us crew were so touched that many of our friends and family came to Itchenor Sailing Club to send us off! It was made even more special as it was a school night and lots of you had travelled from a long way away to be there. Thank you for coming and thank you to those who could not make it- your messages of support and good luck will be in our minds as we sail across the ocean.
We realise how lucky we are to have such wonderful people in our lives.
There are a number of people who require extra special thanks.
Firstly, Graham and Anne- without whom we would have never ‘met’ Arion. You both do so much for us across the board, helping out with boats and also coming to the rescue with children and dogs. We appreciate it all so much and will never be able to thank you enough. It is so fabulous that you are such a big part of this adventure………….
Nick and Biddy- Thank you for agreeing to let us take Arion over the pond. You both have provided much knowledge and input and given many hours to Arion during her extensive refit/ upgrade. Without your kindness and flexibility we would not be doing this trip on such a fine vessel!
Hayley and Al- how can we ever thank you enough for letting us stay with you on and off for nearly 4 months!!?? You have been totally amazing. We bring a lot of noise and chaos into your already busy world and you have welcomed us with open arms. It has provided Arthur and Alice with stability during this time of transition, and it has been so much fun. We will really, really miss our ‘commune’ .
Uncle Michael and Julia you provided us with a fabulous place to live and were so accommodating, giving us the run of your garden and house also! Uncle Michael spent hours teaching Arthur woodwork and making fun things with him which has hopefully given him a good grounding- he might end up being quite useful on the boat!
Nigel and Elizabeth. You have trodden the path we are about to tread and your wealth of knowledge has been a great resource. Granny, you have been wonderful at making lots of useful things for the boat and also looking after the children when we needed extra time to complete things. The children will really miss you!
Bob and Immy have been nothing but supportive in our quest for adventure. It is wonderful to know that we have your full backing and it has given us the confidence to follow our hearts on this trip. Bob has also agreed to do our ‘Met’ for the crossing which will be a huge help, and we look forward to seeing you out there in February.
Archie and Jo- you have given us some wonderful tips and your ‘magic box’ containing all sorts of useful bits!!
Team Dr, Andrew HD- despite his sleepless nights with a newborn has given up valuable time to advise on medical matters. I truly hope we will not need any of it!
Julian Pearson- we had such a fantastic day onboard Arion with you. it was wonderful to pick your incredibly knowledgable and experienced brain. We hope that we never have to put the MOB drill into practice………
Andy Fitz from Ocean Air for the very practical and smart water proof loo roll holder.
Colin Smith for his old CST 14 mast which is now been modified to become the back up spinnaker pole.
Hermione wanted to add some personal thanks to ‘Great Aunt Vicky’ who provided wonderful support when Alice was badly burned (the week before we moved house!!) Simon Cowdel who bravely coached H though booking airline tickets and who somehow managed to keep our IT systems up and running. Suzy, Shazia and Lucy you have been fabulous friends, fed and looked after our children during times of immense busyness and provided Hermione with a shoulder to whinge on when things were not so rosy…….. She will definitely miss you!
So having set out to say a quick thank you, it has dawned on me how much help we have had from friends and family. We are truly, truly grateful and blessed to have such fabulous people around us.
Stay in touch and we will keep you posted. THANK YOU.