Going Home
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Tuesday 3rd and Wednesday 4th May Tuesday was our last day in the yard and so in a final
fevered push we completed all the jobs and were able to wander over to De Big
Fish to join various friends for a farewell drink or two. We ended up having a
meal there with Catherine, Mark and Whit and bade them well on the next leg of
their trip to Panama – once Mark has finished repairing the rudders! Hopefully we have left Serafina in good shape to endure a
long hot and rainy summer, but as a bit of insurance we have Lesley popping in
every week to keep a good eye on things but especially mildew and any
over-friendly vermin. The boatyard will be moving Serafina to another spot once
they are ready to put her into a hurricane cradle which is a bit of a shame as
the security team were very friendly and able to keep a watchful eye on her as
she towers over their hut. On Wednesday we made our way to the airport just a bit too
early but this was because Sarah had organised Alvin to pick us up in his dilapidated
car and as a measure of safety she had chosen to give him an earlier time to
pick us up to allow for the ‘Caribbean Factor’ but he had
turned up 30 minutes early and we had to just go! We are taking some
electronics back to the UK for repair which is quite a performance as you have
to get special customs clearance forms sorted and then present the items to
customs at the airport so they can see them and sign off your paperwork. The
point of all this is so when we return they will not charge us the usual 26%
import tax. However getting security clearance and then passing through all the
controls to get to customs at the airport was very tedious and it was a good
thing we had factored in plenty of time. The Monarch Airlines plane (Airbus 330) was pretty much on
time and we got away almost on schedule but did not realise that this went
first to Tobago where we all had to get out for an hour while they turned the
aircraft round ready for the rest of the flight home. So it was two hours after
leaving Grenada that we finally rose into the sky and headed for Gatwick.
The rest of the trip went well and we arrived home tired but in good spirits on
Thursday morning. So in the 12 months since we left Turkey in April 2010, we
have sailed 8,324 miles which includes 1,993 miles crossing the Atlantic from
the Cape Verde islands to Barbados and 2,358 miles from Israel across the Med
to Gibraltar. We have visited 21 countries, some several times! Every one of
the blogs has had a song title as the subject line, which has been almost as
challenging (thank you Lesley and Trevor for that idea – and your
inspirations) but this is not a particular feature that I plan to continue with
next year! We are back in the UK now until mid November when we will
fly back out to Grenada and the current plan includes sailing north up the east
coast of America to New York and beyond taking 12 months to enjoy the
challenge. This blog will of course recommence as soon as we arrive back on
board but in the meantime Sarah and I both wish all those of you reading this
diary a very enjoyable 6 months of whatever season you are experiencing. We of
course are trying to get our heads round the confusion of being in the UK for
the whole summer and not having a boat to sail in! Our best photos and cruising notes (yachting resources) are
all posted at http://www.rhbell.com Best wishes Rob & Sarah |