Oh what a feeling???!! (Think the old Toyota ad). It truly was a special moment to sail through Sydney Heads on Saturday and arrive to a bunch of family and friends dockside cheering us on! Despite the absolute downpour at the exact moment of our arrival people braved the conditions to come down to see us which was fantastic! The champagne flowed and the stories started coming out!
Thanks everyone for all your support and encouragement as it has been wonderful to see you all. We look forward to catching up properly with everyone soon. For those who couldn't be here, thanks for your well wishes!
We really feel so very lucky to have had the opportunity of this trip and particularly to have a year as a family together. It really has been quite incredible and we have all bonded tightly. It actually feels quite strange to be sitting here by myself typing this blog as JD has dropped the kids at school and already I am missing them! How ridiculous I know!!!
Life is quickly returning to some normality. The kids are on Day 3 of school and have settled in nicely. They are still a bit of a novelty and are being asked a lot of questions about their trip but are taking it all in their stride!
JD and I are busy with the more mundane but necessary aspects of land life like buying a car, facing up to tax returns and a mountain of paperwork. We are starting slowly to check out some job prospects and are making enquiries about the sailing scene and where best to leave our boat long term.
I take this chance to say to you all that it has been great having you all following our travels and encouraging us along the way. Without all the support from our friends and family we would probably be stuck in a hole somewhere in the middle of the ocean. It was been brilliant to get all your messages of support along the way and it has meant a lot to us. We have met some wonderful people, been to some amazing places and really now have life long memories. Hopefully we are better as people for it and can appreciate life just that little bit more! We urge anyone who gets the chance to dip out of the ratrace and do something special for a period to just do it!!! Whether it be a boat or a caravan it really will be a life highlight for you!
As I write this last blog to you all I must say how proud we are of the kids and of course Nika. The kids have grown in many ways in the year. They have rarely complained on the trip and we feel lucky that they have been willing to tag along on such a massive adventure. We are also proud of Nika who has treated us so well and proven to be a fast reliable and immensely enjoyable and comfortable boat to live on and sail. We also feel proud of ourselves for "pulling it off" so to speak and thank the weather god and other angels who have watched over us over the last year! On that note I say a a final goodbye to the blog. I trust you have enjoyed the snippets of our life and not been too scared by the dramas. It really has been mostly plain sailing so to speak! Well for now it is Nika Out for the final time and back to Channel 16 for a listening watch!! Look out for Nika in the harbour or Pittwater and we look forward to getting our friends and family out for a sail soon. x