Saying goodbye

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Wed 5 May 2010 19:48
Tuesday and Wednesday 4th and 5th May

Finally got round all the problems we were having with Lloyds TSB credit cards and were able to pay the two firms that had done most of the work on the projects we had arranged this winter.

All the jobs have been completed and we are just doing all the silly little bits and pieces prior to setting off tomorrow. Trevor and Lesley who are travelling with us on the rally arrived at 6.00am on Tuesday from the UK but as they have their own boat here we did not get to meet up with them again until around 10.00am.

The marina seems to be full of Kiwis and Aussies all of a sudden, must be their autumn back home, but they certainly now outnumber the Americans! The boatyard is now looking quite empty again as the marina staff still work long hours launching craft of all sizes. It is hard to remember already just how incredibly packed the hard was when there were over 1500 boats out.

The morning walk that I have been going out on with various people everyday just got rather more taxing when Dave who is a Kiwi and I were joined out front by Martin who is an Aussie from Sidney who is one very fast walker! For the past week or so Dave has kindly been holding back at my pace whilst we chat about things and he regales me with various stories of his travels and it is no coincidence that his yacht is called Raconteur, however when Martin joined us and upped the pace, New Zealand and Australian competitive spirits emerged and I was left trailing in their wake as neither wanted to appear to slow up. Martin was finally awarded the status of fastest dog in the pack and I just about managed to stay with them but certainly the level of conversation had dropped.

Trevor and Lesley have been round a few times as we sort out details like accommodation and some rules. I was not quite sure what rules they meant but suggested that we should at least agree how they would salute us every day. It looks like we are going to have a lot of fun along the way and there are any number of yachts and their crews here who have done this rally before and they all cannot praise it enough. It sounds like we will be very busy and very tired as well as suffering from a serious overdose of culture and history in amongst visiting some stunning locations and seeing their cultures. Beirut by night is one trip that already stands out as being something special!

Said goodbye to a number of friends in the bar this evening and will hope to see many others tomorrow before we leave in the late afternoon. Most boats and crews are only off for the season and will return here in the winter, but our plans take us very much further afield of course and so it will be some time before many of us meet up again. Having said that there are 10 or 12 yachts that like us plan to cross the Atlantic this winter so doubtless we will all meet up in the Canaries in November or December.