Cape Town

After winning my kite from Ozone, their reps in CT suggested I come up and do the IKO instructors course with them. Having no plans or obligations, I agreed.

It felt both strange and familiar to be living alone again in a town of new faces and a few old friends. Staying in the backpackers I felt this overwhelming sense of panic and I never felt quite safe (this has nothing to with the backpackers but with the traumatic events of last year and my feelings of distrust towards people.)

The course was really interesting and we covered topics such as teaching methods, aerodynamics, weather and equipment. It felt great to engage my brain again.

On the first full moon of the year, one of the guys announced there would be a full moon kite? 'Excuse me?' I said, thinking I may have misinterpreted what he said because of his heavy german accent. "A full moon kite, we go kiting tonight". So with much persuasion I wriggled on my wetsuit and started setting up my kite at about 7pm. A truly surreal experience with a sunset and moon rise at apposing horizons, the wind was strong and constant and I flew through the evening air on my little 5m kite, dodging the silhouettes of other kiters but never saying anything.

The course grew my passion, skills and love of kiteboarding. It was an exciting thing to pass and I am now qualified to teach worldwide, just another tool to help me in my love of traveling.

The grounds getting warm and its time to move on, I will be greeting Langebaan tomorrow for a month of kiting and teaching.

 

Things to come

After a lot of thought, I decided not to embark on the second Atlantic crossing, simply because it didn't feel right, and a sailing trip like this is something you cannot do half-heartedly.

My December was not the greatest as I was completely heart-broken after a tragic break-up. a skin cancer scare and a confusion of what the new year would bring.

2013 has been good to me so far . I competed in the Halyards Cannon Rocks Kite Classic, where I won a kite, a harness, a boardbag and a sponsorship from Ozone. I am so stoked about it and can't wait to really get into kiting. The best part about the trip was that I got to help a friend save baby seals that had washed up on the beach, a life long dream .

I am planning a little roadtrip up to Cape Town at the end of the month and then some more solo traveling is to take place from June :)

I feel that I learnt so much about myself in 2012 and I want 2013 to be about learning about others and others learning about me. I really want to build up a solid group of interesting friends that I can go to for guidance and reassurance.

2013 you are mine .

In Preparation for the crossing

I think that this second Atlantic crossing is going to be a lot more organised. The vessel, 'Moonbeam'is equipped with every gadget imaginable and has luxuries like the ice-maker, coffee machine and geyser.

I have been shadowing the current au pair and spending ample time with the two kiddies that I will be tutoring and looking after on the crossing.

It looks like we  will be doing almost the exact same route as the previous crossing I did so I cant wait to see the amazing friends I made :)

The New Venture

It has been an extremely past few weeks. I have been back and forth between Jbay and St Francis which has involved skateboarding along the highway and hitch hiking.

I have been working at the backpackers while at the same time helping Rich with his exams and invidulating for him. I have also been doing a bit of admin for my friend's historical surf film.

But I am finaly back in my hometown after a quick detour to Kenton on the way home to see two special ladies. I am preparing myself for the next sailing adventure which is sure to provide some new and exciting stories :)

Jbay :)

After a wonderful, comfortable stay at home, it was time to head to Jbay.

Richard had bought me a rabbit. It was so adorable but we had no idea what to do with it, so it came with us for the drive to P.E. We decided to give it to my cousin, Warren, an aspiring vet. It was really good to see the rest of my family after over a year !

Jbay has been really mellow, I am enjoying my job at African Ubuntu Backpackers. In my spare time I do plenty of skating and surfing and hanging out on the beach. I get to meet a lot of very interesting people from all over the world, I am getting so inspired to travel again.

Richard visited me this weekend and we cooked a meal for 16 people at the backpackers. I wonder if they knew that a 16 year old cooked their dinner .

Rich and I also made a video to enter in the Coushurfers contest to win around the world plane tickets, its a little rough but if you dont enter you will never win. It should be up soon :)

It has been raining for the past 11 days and I am getting an intense case of cabin fever. Sun Please come out.

the Home Post

My cousin and I

In East London, South Africa, nothing really changes. Its a wonderful place to grow up and good place to go back to, every now and then. My house seemed sickingly luxorious in comparison to life on the yacht. I appreciated everything so much more, the electricity, the running water, the flushing toilet and the huge kitchen and the food! Cooking was going to be so much easier. With Florence (our maid) 3 times a week, a washing machine and dishwasher, me and Richard didnt have many chores. I couldn't believe how much my family ate, their meals seemed enourmous and I noticed all the food , water, and electricity that was going to waste. I was seeing my surroundings with new eyes. My home, which had always seemed fairly average to me growing up, now looked to me like a magnificent castle.


How we get around

It was so nice to see my family and there was plenty to catch up on. In the 6 months we hadn't seen each other, I had had limited internet access so there were plently stories to share! My dog went crazy when he saw me for the first time and didnt leave my side while I was at home. I turned 19 while I was out at sea so my parents bought me an hibiscus tree as a present, I was thrilled to see it when I got home, and it flowered for the first time the following day.


My birthday gift

Richard and I have been spending our time skating, surfing, missioning around on the motorbike and studying for his tests (which are now finished). We have been partying a bit and I am sure he feels pretty cool being surrounded by 19 year old girls all the time. My cousin, Castyn, drove down from P.E to visit and it has been so lovely having her here. She is my age and we get along really well.





Dad teaching Rich to kite

Rich and I have also been working at Jonginenge for a bit of spending money. In a week I will go to Jbay to help out in a backpackers and Rich will go home to St Francis. I can't wait for the next adventure :D

Part 6- Nearly Home ( the airport fiasco)

Bye Boat !

I quickly climbed up the ladder , onto the boat and down my hatch. I looked around for anything I may have forgotton. The simple, wooden cabin looked bare without mine and Richard's mess scattered everywhere. I became sad thinking about all the memories this tiny space held. It had kept us safe during storms out at sea, me and Richard had slept there , side by side for months. Goodbye cabin, goodbye boat...



The HOK

We got a lift to the airport with a very chatty tour guide who gave us so much interesting information about Trinidad, it made me want to stay there! Coen gave us each a hug goodbye and we were on our own. We encountered our first problem when we realised there was a R1000 fee on our surfboards, so I reluctantly drew the money from my almost depleted account ( I had invested all my cash in my parents business), knowing Coen would pay me back. We bought a few gifts and then hopped on our connecting flight to Panama. We flew with Copa airlines who we thought were very unproffessional. The plane made lots of funny noises and the air hostesses were rude.



Me with the surfboards that cost me a grand to get here

We arrived in Panama after a 5 hour flight and made our way to the gate. i got lots of funny looks, maybe it was because I was the only barefoot person in the entire airport? We got onto another horrid little Copa aeroplane and spent the 6 hour flight to Brazil, chatting and watching movies.

18 hours in Sau Paulo airport! what a long layover. We had a Big Mac meal for breakfast and then 'set up house' . We found a corner and then put our surfboards at right angles to form a 'hok' which we climbed inside and put our bags against the wall as pillows. The time was spent by watching series, singing very loudly ( I get silly on airport air), doing poi, making bangles and eating fast food. It was pretty enjoyable but by check in time I was keen for a hot bath and a normal bed.

We reach check in counter carrying a backpack, a surfboard and hand luggage bag each. The lady asks for our passports. We hand them over. She looks at Richard's Italian passport and asks if he has had a yellowfever injection. He says ...noo. She says...You may not board this flight but you can speak to the manager . She leads us to this little office and it feels like we are on Border Security!

This was such a nightmare! We got told that Richard was not allowed to board without South African identification or proof of a yellow fever injection, we had neither. His SA passport was in Trinidad with his dad, who didnt even have a phone. They suggested he stay in Brazil for another 2 weeks and have the yellowfever injection. 2 WEEKS!! Richards exams started in a few days time, we didnt have any money to stay in Brazil longer. We hadnt showered in 2 days and this was just too much. They let me call my mom to explain the situation and after balling my eyes out, I think the managers didnt want these two barefooted dirty hooligans in their country and by some miracle let us board the plane.They said we would have major problems at South African customs.

We were overjoyed! We could go back to the motherland! Running to the airport gate we screamed with ecitement and celebrated with alcoholic beverages aboard good old South African Airways. We had a wonderful 8 hour flight. Beautiful African airhostesses, delicous food and a wonderful sleep. Looking at the Atlantic from above the next morning, I grew sad thinking we just crossed the vast ocean in less than 8 hours when it had taken us 2 months in the yacht.

Travel buddies

South African Customs hardly lifted an eyelid at Richards non existing yellowfever certificate and I was so glad that for once something went smoothly. I loved being in South Africa. The Afrikaans accents, the black people, Wimpy, the airport was making me so nostalgic. The last little flight to East London went quickly and I became so excited as I saw the familiar city lights. I was excited to surf, to kitesurf, to see family, for Rich to meet my family, to see friends, to hug my dogs, for a real bed, a real shower. As the plane boomed down the little runway, I held Richard's hand, my 6 month companion, and sighed ' I'm Home ' .