Yacht Sarah: St Francis Bay Dec 09

We all arrived in St Francis on the 23rd Dec and so Christmas shopping was a bit of a rushed affair at Greenacres in PE. Handing our jack russells over to their new (very loving) owners was quite easily one of the hardest things I've had to do. Meg and I cried all the way from Walmer to Lorraine. I still get a lump in my throat at the thought of them running to the gate everytime they hear a Mitsubishi Outlander driving by their house...
Moving on...
Our drive down from Underberg was a slow one through the Transkei - lots of trucks on the road. We spent a night with my sister Debbie and her family in the little coastal village of Kidds Beach and got to see mom too as she was visiting them for the Christmas holidays. Then we were on our way to PE where we spent the next night with my other sister Ticki (aka Rose - to most other people) where I proceeded to drown my sorrows in a bottle of Sedgewicks. Funnily enough we drove past a building in East London that according to its signposting is the headquaters of Sedgewicks Old Brown Sherry - what a laugh.

Getting used to the weather in St Francis has been quite something. I'd forgotten how the wind can BLOW in the this part of the world. We've been here for about 2 weeks now and we've probably only had about 2 days free of wind. If it's a westerly the bay is calm and an afternoon sunset cruise is an absolute must. If the easterly blows, the sea is upside down and we tend to seek shelter at a friend's house. Talking of friends, we and the kids have met loads of new friends here and if this is a taste of what's to come then we're loving it. We've also had the opportunity to be with old friends we've known for a while and of course Craig's family too. Wayne has been staying with us on the boat and he and the kids have had a fantastic time fishing and just generally having a great joll on the canals etc. We got to meet and spend time with his little boy Ewan (aka Cuz). Looking at Rowen and Ewan together makes you think you're looking at their Dad's when they were little.... there is such a striking resemblance between the boys and their fathers.

We've had loads of fun ourselves, meeting new friends and having great fun... beach braais (crayfish & muscle pots on the hot coals), blasting vuvuzelas at odd hours, eating too much calamari at Christy's Catch, partying at Cob's Cove, chilling at Greg's house on the canals, eating gourmet food at 11pm at Danie & Michelle's house. It certainly has been a holiday to remember.

Jumping off the yacht in the harbour - Rowen, Gareth and Shannon