OUR HAPPY PLACE

 

"TRAVEL MAKES ONE MODEST, IT MAKES YOU REALIZE WHAT A SMALL PLACE YOU OCCUPY IN THE WORLD" - Gustauve Flaubert

I write this post as our time in America comes to an end. Tampa is the place where we found ourselves again after the crazy whirlwind we left behind in Cape Town.

We needed a soft landing before embarking on our sailing adventure and Tampa has provided just that. Our wonderful friends, Shaun and Shona, have made it feel like it home. They've been there for us with good advice and generously opened their home and hearts to us. We have had unforgettable times with them and had some good laughs over countless bottles of cheap Californian wine!

We have met some lovely friends, been to amazing places and the time we spent in Tampa will always have a special place in our hearts. It's with a bit of intrepidation that we leave this safe haven to embark on the next chapter of our journey. America has been good to us and we leave here with a new respect for the American people and the feeling that we have been part of the American Dream.

SUNDOWNERS IN ST PETE'S

 

SUP, ST PETE'S

 

SEAWORLD FOR TAYNE'S BIRTHDAY

 

DINNER AT OUR APARTMENT

 

BOAT SHOPPING IN SARASOTA

 

JOHNS PASS, MADIERA BEACH

 

THE AMAZINGLY BAD FOOD TRUCK RALLY

GRAND PRIX RACING

 

 

WEEKENDS WITH LATTE

 

ST PETE'S

 

BEAUTIFUL SUNSETS

 

 

FRIENDS FOREVER

 

CHIP ROLLS FOR LUNCH

 

OUR FRIEND SCOTT

 

PASS-A-GRILLE

 

 

OUR CHEVY MALIBU

GOOD TIMES!!

 

LONG DAYS ON THE BEACH

 

 

 

THE ROAD TO PENSACOLA

THE HAPPIEST DAY OF OUR ENTIRE STAY

 

CELEBRATION WHEN OUR BOAT OFFER WAS ACCEPTED

 

FAMILY TIMES

 

2935 WEST LAWN AVE

 

SUNDOWNERS, DAVIS ISLAND

 

THE BOEREWORS BRIGADE

OUR HOMEMADE BOEREWORS

 

A GREAT DAY BRAAING FOR LIV AFRICA OPENING DAY

 

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WE HAVE A BOAT!

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible" - Walt Disney

We have bought a beautiful Lagoon 410, called Katzenellenbogen in St Maarten, Dutch Antilles.

This hasn't come about without many miles of travelling and searching every avenue to find what we're looking for. Stephen flew to the BVI, where he fell in love with a Norseman, we even named it. But it was not to be after the surveyor found too many problems that would take too long to repair. We did 2 trips to Fort Lauderdale, a trip to Sarasota, a 2 day trip to Pensacola, scoured every Internet site and contacted countless boat brokers. They were all either too old, too ugly or badly neglected.
We did have a lot of fun along the way though!

BOAT SHOPPING

THE NEGLECTED

A STORM BUILDING OVER THE GULF

THE DIRTY

THE OLD

HANGING AROUND IN PENSACOLA

THE SWANNEE RIVER

We looked at Katzenellenbogen in St Maarten when we visited Michaela there in February this year. We loved her but she was beyond our budget. She was moored near Michaela's yacht in Simpson Bay. Michaela was lying in her cabin one morning and took a photo of Katz from her porthole and sent it to me on Facebook with the caption "Check the view from my porthole mom." My reply was "Keep an eye on her, we're coming back and we will all sail away into the sunset." That was just a pipe dream and never did I think she would be ours. Our house had just been put on the market and we had huge hurdles ahead before we could even think about buying a boat. But.....she waited for us! The price dropped, we pushed our budget to the limit, the papers we're signed and we move on to our new home next week!

THE PHOTO MICHAELA POSTED ON FACEBOOK

MICHAELA AND I ON KATZ IN FEB

We have not seen Katz since February and we have bought her purely on recollection of what we saw in Feb. This is not the option of choice because Stephen did fly down to St Maarten to see her......but was turned away at customs for not having a visa and had to fly straight out of there on the same plane he arrived on! We did not need a visa for our trip in Feb so didn't check the visa requirements this time, and BOOM, not allowed in!! You used be allowed entry if you held an American B1/B2 visa, but this is no longer the case. He was mad and arrived back after 14 hours of traveling, taking 4 flights with 2 huge bags of excess luggage and didn't actually go anywhere! A hard lesson learned but now we all have one year multiple entry visa's for the Netherlands Antilles.Stephen was meant to be there to meet with the surveyor, do the sea trials and do work on the boat for a week, but everything went ahead without him. Katz was hauled out of the water, the anti-fouling has been done, all the through hull fittings and sea cocks have been replaced and she has been given a clean bill of health.





Katz has not come out of a charter fleet so she comes without extra's on board. We have had to kit her out with everything from kitchenware to linen and towels, so we've been shopping up a storm!! We've been spoilt for choice with amazing stores such as IKEA, Bed Bath and Beyond, The Container Store and of course Amazon. Parcels arrive at the Carcary's daily, it's become quite a joke already. Our BIG problem is getting all this stuff to the boat. We have 11 suitcases, 2 bicycles, a surfboard, diving gear and fishing rods! There is not much of a variety in the islands and anything that is good quality is apparently hellishly expensive so we've decided to rather pay excess baggage and take what we need.

We've decided to moor at a marina in St Maarten for a month so we can do a bit of work on the boat. It will be an easier transition, with Internet, warm showers and electricity......small steps!

We're so looking forward to starting this new chapter in our lives, it's taken 5 years of dreaming and scheming and we're finally getting to the point where we can step on to a boat and sail away. Exciting times ahead!

We have not seen Katz since February and we have bought her purely on recollection of what we saw in Feb. This is not the option of choice because Stephen did fly down to St Maarten to see her......but was turned away at customs for not having a visa and had to fly straight out of there on the same plane he arrived on! We did not need a visa for our trip in Feb so didn't check the visa requirements this time, and BOOM, not allowed in!! You used be allowed entry if you held an American B1/B2 visa, but this is no longer the case. He was mad and arrived back after 14 hours of traveling, taking 4 flights with 2 huge bags of excess luggage and didn't actually go anywhere! A hard lesson learned but now we all have one year multiple entry visa's for the Netherlands Antilles.Stephen was meant to be there to meet with the surveyor, do the sea trials and do work on the boat for a week, but everything went ahead without him. Katz was hauled out of the water, the anti-fouling has been done, all the through hull fittings and sea cocks have been replaced and she has been given a clean bill of

health.




KATZ GETTING CLEANED UP.

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