Happy New Year!
W2N 'Where to Next?'
Rob 'Bee' Clark
Wed 31 Dec 2008 06:59
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13:23.6N 16:37.4W
Hi everyone. I hope you're all recovered from the
Christmas excesses.
Well, I'm back at Lamin Lodge now amongst the
mangroves at the mouth of the River Gambia - back into relative civilisation -
and the internet! It took a few days to get downriver from Manjumba where I
spent Christmas with my Dutch friends Henk and Rietje but it feels strangely
like 'coming home'. Everyone is so friendly here and it looks like they're
organising a special evening for New Year celebrations. So, I'm not sure if I'm
trying to convince you or myself when I say that as soon the party's over, I'm
off - no, really, I am! Honest... My fuel tanks are full and I'm carrying
another 160ltrs in anticipation of a windless slog across the equator. I've made
arrangements to fill the water tanks tis afternoon and I'm heading off
to Serrekunda this morning to provision for the voyage. I've even got
books - finally! I was relieved to be
able to swap a few with the crew of Eschaton anchored at Lamin Lodge.
Reading books had become a bit of an obsession. They had become
contraband - currency. I’d been offered crack cocaine in the
"...a runway on a barren moonscape with some
interesting people but not a lot else!"
He then went on to say
"I recommend staying in The Gambia."
He should know. He's just sailed his boat
Rahula from the UK to Australia and described The Gambia as the
highlight of the entire trip. Thanks for that James but as much as I agree with
you, I really need to try and be at the Cape of Good Hope landmark by the end of
February so I've really got to keep moving.
I hope you like the pictures. They're not in any
specific order but most of them are of my time spent upriver at the village of
Manjumba. Well, I say 'village' but you can see for yourself that it's little
more than a handful of mud huts but the locals made us so welcome that I
was genuinely sad to leave. There haven't been many times when I've regretted
not being able to share an experience with someone special but while I missed
spending Christmas with my nieces Emily, Hannah and Maddy in the UK, I couldn't
help imagining what an unforgettable experience it would have been for them in
Manjumba. Ah well, one day...
2008 was a huge year for me. Canasta
is the sum total of everything I aspired to and dared to dream of. She is
everything I had hoped for, worked so hard for and she still makes me
tingle with pride under sail, at anchor, on a pontoon or whenever a total
stranger feels compelled to complement her. 2008 will always be the year
I moved out of the home I loved and sold my business, my Bristol
house, my car and almost (but not quite!) sold Bright Flyer;
the boat I bought four years ago with my dad and the inspiration for the
'Where to Next?' project. At the time they weren't easy decisions but
with hindsight, particularly given the current economic climate and my nagging
restlessness, they were the right ones. 2008 will be remembered for an
incredible Round the Island Race, for the holiday in Shanghai, for the
skiing in France, the mountain biking (well, most of it!). I'll fondly remember
an unforgettable London Marathon, sailing Canasta's sister ship
Swagman from Portugal to Brighton and rebuilding at least one
metaphorical bridge. Whatever happens, 2008 will of course always be the year
that I had my fifteen minutes of fame and set off looking for adventure. 2008
will always be the year, only just, that I found it.
If 2009 can match that then... bring it on! Somehow
though, I think it might.
That was a bit self-indulgent I know but it's hard
to believe that so much happened in 2008. It was a chaotic blur. With such a
seismic shift in my life, there will inevitably be regrets and I'd be lying if I
said I wasn't missing you; my friends, my family, my home comforts and even my
work! Thank you all for your Christmas wishes and for your gracious
messages of support. I'm not able to get online so frequently now but
when I do, there are always one or two emails that lift my spirits and make
me smile. Oh, yes, "Make me Smile"... of course 2008 was the year I saw
Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel in concert... and Muse! Sorry, I digressed. The
next few legs to Cape Town are likely to be the hardest sailing I've ever
done but it gets easier from there and I will have passed a significant
milestone in the project.
Everyone, have a very messy New Year's Eve and I
hope that the new year brings you prosperity, happiness and of course...
great sailing!
HAPPY NEW YEAR
Bee x
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