Happy Holidays! Here is what Christmas is like aboard Fiona.
I have spent several Christmas’ aboard the boat. My first was sailing back from Tahiti to Long Island in 1991/92 after Edith passed away. For crew I had two young men, Chris and Pete, both in their early twenties. On Christmas Day we were in the South Pacific about 2,200 sea miles west of Cape Horn. We spliced the mainbrace early and after lunch both the crew conked out, drunk. Fortunately, Victor the Vane was unaffected. We rounded Cape Horn on the 9th January, 1992. A comment I made on a video is that the refrigerator was warmer than the cabin temperature. We tied at the most southerly Chilean naval base, Pto Toro, in the evening of the 9th, they were not too happy to see us, it is not a port of entry. But they were hospitable, a family invited to their house. We left the next day for Pto Williams, which is an entry port, and tied up at the yacht club, which is a grounded, abandoned ship.
Merry Christmas, Eric!
Warm regards,
Rick B.
Thank you for the inspiration Eric, I await your book by post this week. Also ‘been looking online at a Nicholson (for sale) for sometime now. The latest lockdown hampers ‘legal’ travel between zones in UK, so viewing not easy. Thinking of your wife Edith reminded me of another great loss, Patrick Childress. I wonder if you met Patrick on your travels across the global village?
Merry Christmas Rick!
Thank you Stevie! Sorry, Patrick Childress doesn’t ring a bell, but that doesn’t mean we didn’t meet. Cruisers are very informal and I probably met a dozen ‘Pats’.
I hope you have a good Christmas, Eric, and don’t suffer too much from lockdown; here in this rural part of Scotland, we are not very affected, the worst bit being that our local pub has closed down. With travel restrictions, I didn’t even get my boat ‘Volja’ in the water this year. Stay safe, and fair winds.
Andy.
Good to hear from you Andy. Sorry the pub is closed. I managed a few weeks in Maine with Fiona. Fair winds, Eric