ocean-pilgrim

By the time we arrive on Leros, where our boat is located, it will have been nearly 7 weeks since we left our home base in Tasmania. The pack-up is always epic. The more time I have the more I find that needs doing, driving both Rick and I to distraction. When is enough actually enough? This year a few days before we left Rick declared an end to cleaning and we escaped in our van for a glorious 24 hours to our favourite place in Tasmania (apart from home), the Freycinet peninsula on Tasmania’s east coast as camping trips had been few and far between over the summer. Not to say there’s been no fun though as the following photos show.

The pack up is complicated by the fact that we leave our tiny home on the short term holiday rental market so not only is there packing for the year ahead there’s packing out all of our personal belongings (and a few treasures) plus maintenance and deep cleaning needed at our tiny home to get it ready to receive guests throughout the year.

We are in Thailand now but will also make a quick trip to Spain to see family on the way to Greece. Thailand is for Rick to continue his ongoing love affair with Kiting and Wing Foiling. For me it is an opportunity for a reset and to find balance in body, mind and spirit after a hectic time in Tasmania where most of my attention was focussed outwards and not within.

Yet even en route to Greece our planning focus and attention is definitely still on the season ahead. We’ve taken the big and expensive decision to replace our mainsail in the hopes that it fixes our furling issues. Not to be taken lightly as a sail that won’t roll properly into the mast becomes a risk when sailing as if it gets caught half way in and won’t go any further it’s a no win risky situation as there is no way to get it down once it’s stuck. Furling main sail systems have been used for 30 years now but Rick would prefer an old fashioned sail that you haul up and down the mast like we used to have on our old boat in the late ’80’s. Theres less to go wrong with them but getting it changed would probably mean a new mast as well as a sail and new rigging and the cost of that would be our cruising budget for a year or more! So a new sail it is. This won’t arrive from Sweden until sometime in May but it can be delivered to us wherever we are if we’re no longer in Leros or don’t want to return there.

There’s a list, of course, of all the things we need for the boat. Some have been sent directly to the boatyard and others sourced from within Australia while we were home. They’re coming as part of our luggage. Not as many items as last year. This could be that we have lots of spares on the boat already and that it is pretty much up to date with what we need or that we’re just finding we need less and that more is actually available on the islands than in years before. It’s probably a combination of both as each year the little things I bring back to the boat like Thai Curry Paste or certain tea bags I find on the shelves in either a delicatessen, health food shop or supermarket in Leros. It’s great when travelling through 3 countries immigration isn’t a matter of hoping they don’t ask what that green powder in a snap lock bag is (Kaffir lime leaves I dried and blended by the way!)

Rick is bringing more foiling gear this year though. Another wing that he got in Australia that takes up a good half of his suitcase. We are dropping off and leaving some more gear here as he has hired a kite locker which enables him to leave at least 30 kilos of gear waiting here for him until next year. It’s the only way that this kind of travel is possible. Bags here, there and everywhere. Also, as we now have things spread over 4 countries we take a solid inventory that includes a video before we leave each place as otherwise we totally forget what is waiting where.

So a little bit about Thailand before I sign off. Last year I got pneumonia here and it totally coloured my experience. This year after a brief bout of the same respiratory virus I am fine. This is enabling me to have a great time. I have been loving the warm weather and the beautiful pool at our apartment. We have done little sightseeing as I have spent a lot of time reading, writing, gym-ing and having massage and Rick has been on the water and having lots of massage. For me the reset is definitely paying dividends. And for Rick, the water and wind continues to challenge him to grow in his skills and to find some joy even with the less than optimal conditions this year. There’s more kiters and both wing and kite foilers this year making the water pretty crowded and more dangerous as people with different abilities compete for space. But it provides quite the spectacle for audience on the beach as horse traffic and people with zero idea how dangerous kites can be meander aimlessly through dozens of kites in the process of taking off and landing. The guys from the local kitesurfing school can be thanked for keeping it safe as they help people to negotiate this. Particularly the beginners.

We’ve met some great people this year and reconnected with friends made last time we were here which has been super. It was Rick’s turn to get sick this year but he has just bounced back as he always does and we have been able to go on a few adventures. Here’s a few photos from the last few weeks that are not about kiting!