Touching Ground

As life passes by. If you are reading this then you are still on our journey. Things have been happening in your lives, things we might or might not be aware of but I bet it has been a strange and difficult year and I hope that if I can continue to share our story, it might provide a small distraction in this year known as “the nightmare that is 2020”.

You have faithfully been following our adventures (not sure why, but I hope it’s been worth it ;-) for six months now while we live onboard as nomads. At times there has definitely been a little baptism by fire introduction to this new live-aboard life, but the good news is that I am NOT (at least not yet) saying “ what were we thinking? “

I suppose with my jump right in attitude it was to be expected; I have since discovered that the majority of people making this transition to living aboard a yacht full time typically do so over a period of at least an initial 12 months. Basing themselves full-time in a safe marina for the first year as they get used to their new home, enjoying ever-increasing day and weekend sails from their base.

Yeah yeah, we did it to escape our unfulfilling corporate lives that modern-day seems to demand. Or maybe we did it purely to escape life? We have climbed off the hamster wheel that was our life — career progression, making more money, spending more money, the same daily and weekly routines. We have moved from dreaming about living differently to actually living differently. Or maybe we just ran away from fear and responsibility and stress while we are still young and healthy enough to do so? Whatever the reasons that drove — and still drive -us, it has brought us to realism of appreciating the small things in life as we follow our love of sailing. And I am not lying, right now, they really are small. As it turns out though, for us they really are great too.

In all of life we go through highs and lows and here today, living in a marina over winter we are definitely touching ground and I guess you could call it a low. But actually no, it is about one’s attitude — how you choose to respond, and it is a choice. My choice is to not take the low-line. I choose the high-line right here in the moment with our beautiful sunrises, or is it the sunsets — sorry I get confused as they are both just so picture-perfect beautiful (the only difference being whether I am looking East or West).

We chose our winter mooring in Club Nàutic Arenys de Mar, based on a desire to live in a small elite marina but primarily on ease of access to the mountains, and wow have we been rewarded for this choice. The town is small and quaint, 40 km East of Barcelona, and the recently rebuilt Marina — small by comparison to most Spanish marinas — has excellent staff who focus on making our lives welcoming, easy and comfortable.

With my growing understanding that what constitutes normal in a sailing community is very different from my past, my old normal, I have been truly impressed. Our interactions and experiences with people are different from how I was taught to survive. They focus on making a life out of experiences, open and accepting to all regardless of the size of your boat or your years of sailing experience. So while I still feel somewhat a foreigner, I also feel part of a community. One that lives on the sea, is supportive and helpful and willing for no other reason than they understand as they also went through the same learning curve. It’s a pay-it-forward culture where everyone contributes based on skills and knowledge — you can’t be taught this in a book. Whether it’s always been like this or it’s an impact of Covid I don’t know, but it is how everyone should be aiming to live. I am humbled and grateful to meet the most amazing people. These strangers have opened their hearts to help us succeed in this life we have chosen. They do so with trust, without knowing us — and coming from clicky Cape Town it’s been an eye-opener. One such individual is Lucas, a Greek sailor we met during the height of lock-down when sheltering for 48 hours in a marina in the Messina Straits — we weren’t allowed to set foot off the yacht for the entire period. Besides sharing his extensive knowledge with us on our trip ahead (including the dangerous currents of the Messina), Lucas also shared the most amazing organic Oregano herbs and delicious Greek cheese that he sources from sustainable small scale farmers across a host of tiny Greek islands. A fascinating man who makes a living by selling the produce to restaurants in Italy, which he transports by wind (the engine is only used as an absolute last resort).

Another fantastic couple that we spent a few days exploring beautiful Menorca with are retired US Navy Rear Admiral David Lane and his super energetic wife Vicki. They have been living aboard their yacht, with their dog Saylor, for the past six years making fantastic memories and went out of their way to help us, even giving us the most delicious red wine as a token of our new friendship. We have been staying in touch and sharing our ongoing experiences and adventures on-board as they continue to enjoy winter in Menorca.

Then let me not forget our most recent friends from down the same boardwalk as us in Marina Arenys; Fredric, from France, and Silvia, from Italy, who are patiently trying to teach us Spanish. They have both been so super welcoming and helpful as we try to navigate our way around our new home and with four years of live-aboard experience Fredric has a wealth of knowledge and contacts he is gladly sharing. So between their broken English (which is not bad) and our broken Spanish, we are able to communicate :-).

And it hasn’t only been limited to the sailing community… To the greatest of good luck, or maybe it is bad — I still haven’t decided ;-) — we met the crazy Sergio while mountain biking in the local hills. Turns out Sergio and his friends have built most of the downhill trails in what is now our local riding area. Despite his considerable advanced skills — yes he used to race on the Catalan and Spanish national downhill teams in his past — he has willingly taken us riding with him, happy to wait for us as we explore some of the best, and some of the most insane, trails in the area. I just don’t think I can keep up with Sergio, not only on the trails that is, so, for now, we are declining his many invitations to come partying with him — despite the offer of tequila and beer. We are however being typically South African and during the weekend lock-down, we are sneaking across the mountain into the districts next door to find that perfect single track with fun friends who definitely make us laugh!

Yes, these people have touched my life with such impact.

Hailing from South Africa, and specifically a Capetonian, we are accustomed to a very special life built around a great climate and ease and accessibility to getting out there to enjoy nature. Weekends are mostly planned with a braai and friends or a short trip to the family holiday house or a long-weekend in the nearby mountains. Here we are surrounded by an incredible ocean, mostly calm and clear, and our all but deserted marina during the week comes alive over weekends. The yachts are the holiday homes and the sailors arrive on Friday afternoons keen for a weekend of sun and sailing. But for us, after 520 hours and 2,400 nautical miles of sailing almost every day since June, it’s more than time to admit to a little skipper fatigue and trade the sails for our mountain bikes.

And again it’s not a low, this winter thing, as in the back of my mind is the knowledge that as summer approaches we will get GypsyDjango summer ready to sail back to Menorca for a month of fun and adventure. We intend to sail around the island from Cala (bay) to Cala as we explore the Cami de Cavals route — an ancient horse path that circumnavigates Menorca — by bike and foot. You are hereby all invited, each and everyone, to come and join us in experiencing one of the most beautiful and unique islands I have had the pleasure of discovering to date — just bring your running shoes or mountain bike (or both).

After Menorca, we plan on returning to Croatia for the summer season via a different route, exploring the beautiful Corsica, Sardinia and Amalfi coast of Italy, before crossing to Albania and heading north to Dubrovnik and our true love, Croatia. Of course, based on what 2020 delivered I have no expectations of anything going according to plan, so if we don’t get to sail in Croatia next year then we will keep it local and sail the Balearics, spending the nights watching the sunsets and stars from the bay we have chosen to make our home for the night.

But before that, we are busy renewing our Spanish residency (yes we have been here close on 1 year) and as I now hold a British Passport we qualify for the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement and in turn 5 years residency. So I am spending time collecting the necessary documents and it has been a lot of fun with a lot of challenges. Our original 1-year residence was gained via working through an exceptional Spanish lawyer but the 1500 euro price tag for this process dictated that I run with this one myself. And wow — from trying to understand the language of the Spanish government websites to attempting to avoid submitting in person in Barcelona and possible Covid exposure we are now submitting online. Today will be the third time we will be entering the tax offices in our district (in person) to apply for permission to submit electronically. How is that for irony? I guess it could have been avoided if we understood the language and did not keep on ruining the appointment but we will get there and it’s definitely worth it. Small steps forward.

Summer is over for now and we miss Croatia terribly, but this is our life today and it is a good one. We are appreciative of what we’ve got and what we are looking forward to in 2021. I hear you laughing and saying “oh really, I think you are reading too much into those stars you keep looking at” ☺ No, I can’t predict the future but I can decide how I respond. And I tell you what, I now know the system and how we can travel effectively across the Mediterranean gaining access to different countries along the way as, playing your cards right, a private sail yacht is deemed an isolated way to travel.

I am so grateful for staying true to our dreams and the choices we’ve made that have led us to this yacht.

Originally published at https://jacioutthere.wixsite.com on November 19, 2020.