Simon had an exciting morning planned. It turned out that Kim was a dive master and offered to take Si out for a dive with Oliver their son. They set off ending up at Castries unable to find clear water anywhere else. Si had a great time and was most grateful to get a little practice in before his course with CJ on Boxing Day. Kim skipped lunch back in their dinghy suffering with tummy ache which we hoped wasn’t food poisoning from last night. Back on Brindabella I did the laundry then with great delight actually managed to catch my mum for the first time on Skype at my sister Julie’s. It makes so much difference seeing people while talking. The rest of the time until Simon returned I deleted photos; hundreds and hundreds of photos. As well as the three similar shots I seem to take at a time there were also duplicates of most. It took ages and I still have heaps to do.

   Lost in Photoshop I didn’t realise the time and had to really get my skates on to get a meal on the table before our evening out. We had been told to eat before going out: Tonight was the ARC prizegiving. The Gaiety was not far at all from the marina and rum punch with a Caribbean band playing Christmas music greeted us. We mingled with friends in the garden before being asked to take our seats in the theatre. It was a lovely event as we listened to stories of sailing victories, fishing triumphs, good deeds and youngest children afloat. There were prizes galore and Simon even had a bottle of rum for helping with the radio net. Unexpectedly the festivities continued afterwards with first a steel band, then a rock band with canapés if you were quick enough. After all the preparations, the transatlantic crossing then the celebrations afterwards, it seemed so strange that ARC 2009 had come to a close. We said goodbye to friends, possibly some for the last time. Back at the marina sleep was impossible with incredibly loud music and enthusiastic crowds well into the night.