Sailing Evenstar

Cathe and I never had a real honeymoon. By the time we formalised things in church we were already deep into parenting and careers. I could have done a lot better in 2001 and this was the time to make amends.  We aren't normally ones for extravagance in holidays; but this was the time to mix it up. Bora Bora has a decidedly romantic ring. The Conrad looked like the spot to kick off.  Sydney was awash with stories of cancelled holidays. After the boat being turned back I was ready for the situation to compound with a Covid disaster.  However, we managed to avoid the Vid pitfalls and made it to the airport with wads of paper evidencing vaccinations and negative tests; all of which was a blessed relief.   French Polynesia defies the cliches and manages to be even more beautiful in person than the best photographic reproduction can manage. Bora Bora was a great place to wash away the 2020/21 blues: except that Cathe had caught the horrid not-covid-but-worse-flu bug ...

Everyone had plenty of worries during the peak of the Covid pandemic. Mine centred around the blood cancer I was diagnosed with just before the lock downs began, trying to manage the effects of chemotherapy, and the quite lethal possibility of catching Covid while highly immune-suppressed due to the treatment.  By about mid 2021 I had mentally put cancer and chemo behind me. Despite that my 2 shots of AZ had almost certainly had a limited effect, and that (or perhaps because) the cancer was not the type one could feel confident of having seen the last of, I was feeling optimistic and resilient enough to re-kindle my old sailing plans.   The lockdowns provided plenty of time to scour the internet for suitable sailing vessels, and in the absence of the inability to travel, Cathe and I did a couple of video walk-throughs of different cruising boats. In the end the brand reputation of Hallberg Rassy won out and we struck a deal, sight unseen, on Evenstar, a beautiful looking ...