You know it's been a GREAT day when...

...your most noticable tan lines are the laugh lines on your face(not unlike the all too common racoon tan)!

Soo it is yet again time for my (monthly) blog update.

They say time flies when you are having fun, I can't believe that it is only 1 more week until my SA holiday!

With the yacht being back in the yard, we are finally in one place for a fairly extended period of time. Summer has come to an end and everyone(a huge percentage of them SAFAS) are returning to Fort Lauderdale. With the boat show and Halloween next week everyone is in full swing.

We are currently recarpeting the boat. The yacht looks like a cross between a crime scene and a smurfs tea party. Last week Lindsay and I covered the entire interior of the boat with blue-diamond(a protective plastic covering). No one can live onboard for the time being, so Tiem, Dave, Fish and I have moved into a house just a few blocks from the yard. It is such a treat to have my own room and a massive bed so I can starfish to my hearts content!

I recently spent a weekend in Miami visiting a friend I haven't seen in months. My time in Miami consisted of days of lazing on South Beach, and evenings in some of the most exclusive clubs in Florida. My last day in Miami I went to a regatta. Basically what this means is hundreds of boats head out to a sandbank anchor off and tie up to one another, and you can swim and walk from boat to boat. Everyone jams out their music and the beers are cold and endless. Needless to say the next week was spent recovering from too much sun and too many late nights.

The following weekend a bunch of us stinky SAFAS rented a car and drove up to Sebastian for the weekend. We spent a super mellow day hanging out at the airport where we later proceded to jump 13500ft out of an aeroplane. Experience of a life-time, but never ever again! I was so frightened that I felt like I was going to throw up! I don't think Mark, my tandem partner, would have been to pleased.

This weekend began on Thursday, with a Chandlers Pre-boat show party at the local pub Waxy's.

Friday night we rented a black Hummer limo. We started the night off with oversized(aka american sized) margarittas at the beach front, then onto Downtown for some live music, and ended off at a techno dance club and some gambling at the Hardrock Casino-what a night-thanks Linds for organising!

I was in retail heaven on Saturday. Tiem and I drove out to Sawgrass Mill Mall, which is like Access Park on steroids! Some of the outlet stores included Gap, Lacoste, Guess, Michael Kors, Tommy Hilfigure, The Body Shop...I could have spent three days there had it not been for a phonecall from a friend saying a couple people were heaeded out the the Florida Keys for 2days. The conditions there are not unlike Shark Bay Langebaan. A narrow beach stacked with kites and calm shallow warm water. The wind was steady and fairly light, so perfect for me to get a lesson in. By the end of the day I was up on the board and tacking up and down the beach for a solid 25min. It gave me more of a rush than skydiving.

Back at the house now and feeling sunkissed and sleepy. It has been such a great weekend, and I'm greatfull that the time is nearing for home.

See you all SOON :)

What goes up...must come down!

Today, October 2nd 2010, marks the first day of the LAST trip of the season, and most importantly one month until my arrival at Cape Town International Airport:)

I am happy to report that I am feeling alot more positive since my previous entry. Every day I am learning and growing and am better able to take on new challenges.

After an extremely busy, and exciting, season in New England, we are back in Florida.
We had a fairly challenging trip, dancing with the hurricanes, on our way back down the coast. We embraced every day (and every huge swell) with brave faces as we slowly but steadily made our way back to Florida, knowing that with each mile we were all nearer to "home".
At times we had to duck off into docks away from the rough seas which further delayed our journey-this proved to be a blessing in disguise, as we were fortunate enough to spend a few days in Savanah Georgia where I delighted in all the antique shops, beautiful weepy trees hanging over the side walks and cobble stone streets. Of all the cities I have seen over the past 8months Boston and Savannah are closest to my heart, and I hope to return there someday.

On September 24th we reached our final dock at Bocca Raton, Florida. We arrived in the rain- everyones children and wives were on the dock to welcome them home - I suddenly felt a little less excited, and I little more lonely.
What better cure than spending the weekend in Fort Lauderdale(the town where I started my journey in March) with a bunch of South Africans....so that is exactly what I did!
It is amazing how a combination of good company, biltong and retail therapy can soothe the soul! Thanks Lindsey, Kylie, Pat and Breeny for a great weekend, and welcoming me into your home.

After a great weekend in Lauderdale I returned to Moonraker and we all set out in full force to get the boat in supreme condition for the bosses arrival at 2pm on Saturday....well today is Saturday... and it is 6.30pm now, and no one has been able to contact the boss man, and we are all somewhat concerned???

That aside, we are all excited for the upcoming "yard time" where we will be "dry docked" for 6weeks. We will be replacing carpets, and having other work done on board. Our girl is a little tired after the long season and is in need of some TLC.
During this time, we will be staying in a cute house in Lauderdale. This will be great as I will be closer to friends (currently it is a $150 cab ride to from Bocca to Fort Lauderdale-ouchie!).

With all that said, there is much to look forward to in the near future...top of the list being my visit home in November. I often see names of restaurants, eat foods or have experiences which trigger memories of home, and bring to mind family and friends, and each night when I monkey climb up into my bunk and look at your faces collaged on my wall I am at peace and know that no matter how lonely I feel at times I am never ever truly alone.

See ya soon amigos!

Love love love X

"If you didn't have badluck, you'd have no luck at all"

"Kayleigh, if you didn't have bad luck you'd have no luck at all" a good friend recently told me.

As I stood earlier today, it was hard to argue this point.

After a long month of 18hr work days and very little sleep, I was excited to be going to the Bahamas to spend time with myself , reading, sunning, swimming and relaxing...

Apparently only I could go to a 3rd world country and start off my vacation by:

Losing my debit card(the 2nd one in that week( note to anyone planning to visit the bahamas, the locals do not take kindly to people who can't pay for their hotel room, they will make you sleep on the street!!! Thanks for saving me dad!),

Be bitten by a FISH while snorkeling in shark infested waters,

Be conned into paying for an expensive meal I did not order,

And contract a bacterial infection, all in a 4 days!

On returning to the safety of the USA, I find that someone has hacked into my bank account and taken out all my money. SA banks are closed, so that is another challenge for tomorrow.

The work day is done and the New York streets are a rat race of people leaving work.

I was walking back to the boat with my newly developed underwater shark pics in hand and I felt cold water from a leaky aircon drip onto my knee. When the sensation occured again I realised there was no dripping water, and that my pelvis has started to rotate again and was pressing on a nerve which is causing the feeling.

I felt angry with the world and was at a point of near meltdown right there on the sidewalk, when a rather rotund lady walked by me. She looked tired yet light on her feet, the energy she gave off was contagious as she happily sang to herself. I took a detour back to the boat just so I could walk inconspiciously behind her, I couldn't help but smile when she was near me.

I remembered a story Kristen had told me about how some people are like rays of sunshine, they are so radiant that everyone can share in their warmth.

There are days like today when I find it hard to smile and be positive. I am lonely, scared and feel like everything is a struggle. But when I think of my the people I love and the big man who watches over me, I believe I will wake up tomorrow with renewed strength, when hopefully I can be someones sunshine...maybe even a stranger on the sidewalk.

As my wise mummy has always told me, "little girl...as you sow, so you shall reap..."

In times like these I am thankfull

I wrote this entry in my sketchbook after my final dinner at Ciao the local Italian restaurant, which I frequented(5 dinners in 7days to be exact!) while in Myrtle Beach:



After slowly working my way through a delicious pot of mussels and the BEST cappucino in the entire US, I sit outside with my feet in the more than tepid water of the pool, and listen to the rolling thunder. As I reflect on my week in Myrtle Beach I bring to mind all the extremes of emotions I have recently been through.



To be in bad health is not an easy thing when far from home.

The decision to spend my 7days leave in a southern, sleepy, seaside town with no internet, tv or familiar faces, was not the easiest decision to make.



My vacation began with a 2 hour flight, which turned into a 5hour pain in my ass-literally! 11days prior an unexplicable pain had started in my lower back and within a couple days had radiated down my legs and into my feet-the pain was relentless even with paikillers. The extended flight didn't help, on arriving at the condo I took a long bath and called it a night. The next three days were spent relaxing, sketching, reading and physio appointments.



Due to my gimpy hip and lack of transport, I wasn't able to see much of Myrtle Beach, so my fond memories were formed by the people I met



In times like these I am thankfull for the simple things:



The loan of a house from a generous friend



Sleeping in until 6pm



Sitting inside in the coolth of the aircon and seeing the turtles in the lake below basking in the midday sun



Having a neighbour use a credit card to shimmy my door open at 3am because I'd locked myself out



Being taken under the wing of a cab driver so selfless and empathetic that he was willing to lift me after hours at no cost



Spending an entire day reading a cheesy romance novel



The appreciation I felt for my massage therapist, who though clumsy, has the most intuative and healing hands I have ever felt. I wish her the best health with the birth of her first child in November.



The comfort in knowing that no matter where in the world you are you can always phone your mum for the best advice.



Spending half an hour infront of the cracker aisle in the Hungry Lion with 2 store assisants and a friend on the phone trying to select the best crackers for cheese. Needless to say I walked out with 4 different varieties



A night and sunrise spent at a cabana on the beach listening to universal music and talking about cheese-I like unusual food, but am yet to try some of these ethnic treats: melted cheese in hot chocolate, feta roll dipped in coffee. A Russian, a Lithuanian, a Libian , a Puerto Rican , a Yugoslavian and a South African, all sharing cheese and a Southern sunrise together



Sharing a meal with a new friend



Winning a monkey bigger than myself at a funfair



Chatting to a newly retired couple at the pool about their completely different upbringings, and how they had met and fallen in love



The comfort of knowing that on return to NY I have a home and a family I have quickly learned to love.

I will never forget the time I spent in Myrtle Beach and the wonderful people I met...
I am back home now, and my hip is doing much better.

The boss arrives onboard tomorrow and we will be heading up to Marthas Vineyard, Nantiket and Boston...new places, new faces andnew memories. Life doesn't get much better than this. I lost my cellphone on the way home from the airport yesterday, so facebook and email are my only means of communication for the next couple weeks.

Sharing is caring

Sharing a bunkroom the size of a walk-in closet doesn't only mean; sharing clothes, scheduling showertimes, deciding on movies together, you even get to share hormones...imagine this...2girls who both get pms twice per month! It's pretty scary stuff. I almost took our chefs eye out last week by launching a toothbrush at him because he teased that the boss was coming in early (and it wasn't soft bristle!).

Our charter guests arrived on Thursday eve. They are such a romantic couple, and lovely to be around.

The husband arranged that a personal shopper, Julie (who dressed the ladies for the 2nd Sex in the City movie) deliver an entire wardrobe of items to the boat before they arrived. The Mrs was taken completely by suprise as she entered the room decked out in designer shoes, jewelry, bags, shoes and accesories.

On arriving in NewPort yesterday our chef took the guests to the seafood market. They returned with nine 3pound lobsters, one for each of us!!!!!!! They are very cute creatures, but too rich for my taste unfortunately.

I am enjoying work more as I get used to routines and procedures, but looking forward to my time off in June. I have started searching for reasonable tickets to Colorado to visit Nikki and her hubby, I am told it is beautiful in the summer :)

I'll bend over backwards for you anyday

We arrived in NY yesterday at 2pm,and after and hour of being interrogated by the coast gaurds(aparently stopping at the statue of libery fo 10 min to take photos is suspicious activity-go figure?) us ladies headed out for some much needed retail therapy , followed by an amazing meal in LittleChina, and a limo trip to TimeSquare to marvel at the lights.

Today was back to reality and getting ready for the bos mans arrival the following day.

After a day of polishing brass and windows until I was literally red in the face, I headed down to the ChelseaMarina Gym to get off the boat and mellow out (I was super cranky hormonal chick today).

I decided on a yoga class and proceded to lay out my brand new pink yoga mat and waited for the class to start. The music began and in walked the instructor...it's obvious why this class is so popular with the ladies-He was tall, muscular with the smoothest foreign accent and stared dirrectly into your eyes when he spoke to you.

After contorting, sweating and turning myself into a human pretzel I returned "home" to find a delicious smorgesboard of seafood fresh from the market (oysters, escargo, sole, seafood sausage and steamed broccoli)....aaaah Mikey you always do us proud...it's no wonder my skorts don't fit me anymore!

Boss arrives tomorrow, and we have a charter starting on Thurs with guests I have never met. Season has begun and it is going to be a great one!

Landsickness...are you for real!

So after 8hours of running yesterday, and feeling slightly green, I was only too glad to reach St Augustine and set my feet on stable ground.

While competing in the Moonraker MiniGolf cup I became increasingly aware that the ground was moving...it is a weird sensation to feel "landsick", it's like you can't escape the motion of the ocean no matter what you do. The boys explained that this happens less frequently the more you travel.

In the evening we headed down to Harry's cajun seafood restaurant for dinner, and too present the cup to our new mini golf champion, John. I had fried green tomatoes as an appetizer-tasty little morsels they are!
Dad always says I should write my co ordinates in each entry so ppl can get a feel for where I am, but to me the food I experience defines every new place I visit.

We are running for 6 hours today so should reach the Hilton Head by 2pm.