We had a fabulous farewell from friends and family on the 7th May when we sailed away from Medway Yacht Club, and were delighted that John's Dad, Roy, was able to be there too.
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| The beautiful cake that Hilary Butler made us is decorated with 3 oil-skin clad figures and a very glamorous mermaid! |
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| Sara Jane is dressed overall and is flying flags from all the countries we have visited so far . |
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| Farewell Medway |
Sailing past Beachy Head - we thought it would be for the last time!
We sailed to Guernsey, where we spent 3 weeks getting new equipment for the boat, installing a new generator, getting our folding Brompton bikes and doing school in the excellent library and museum in St Peter Port.
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| May is definitely the best month to visit the usually packed marina in St. Peter Port. Note the contents of Harry's cabin drying on the rails (and mattresses over the boom) after his cabin was flooded on the sail over. |
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| All changes when a French Rally arrives. |
We had some appointments in June so sailed back to Plymouth and a week later I was diagnosed with breast cancer. So another change of plan as we decide to sail back towards Kent, leaving the boat in Chichester while we returned to Medway for my operation. Recovering back on the boat we sailed round to be near Charlotte at her college in Warsash.
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| Spelling test at anchor off Chichester - get hauled in a metre if correct & let out a metre if not! |
After 2 weeks we got the news that the cancer had spread into the nodes and I needed a second operation. This was a shock and we decided to sail back to Medway so that our boat home was as close as possible to the hospital. We were very well looked after in Gillingham marina and it was lovely to be near friends again. I had excellent treatment at the hospital and was allowed ‘home’ a few hours after my operation with a drain in – and the nursing team did their first ‘hospital to boat’ visits to look after me!
After a 2 week wait I had the good news that the cancer had not spread any further than the few connected nodes, and three hours later we were sailing down the Medway again. Plans were still evolving – changing every day – as I had to be back for radiotherapy at Maidstone in September. In the end Harry & I got off the boat on the 11th August in Guernsey and John sailed the boat, single-handed, across the Bay of Biscay and southwards down the Portuguese coast.
He left her in Lagos marina, on the south coast, and flew back to England on the 15th September. Harry & I used the time to visit family, catch up with friends, borrow a house and a car (thank you Danda and Jane!) and to meet up with a great group of home-educating families in Kent. Radiotherapy was fine, super-efficiently organised and John did school while I rested. We galloped round on more visits around the country then he flew back to the boat on the 26th October. He was joined by Aidan, Nicola and Sam and they had a really rough few days sailing to Madeira. Harry & I flew here on the 12th November with a year’s worth of tamoxifen! The end - phew!
Biscay dolphins
He left her in Lagos marina, on the south coast, and flew back to England on the 15th September. Harry & I used the time to visit family, catch up with friends, borrow a house and a car (thank you Danda and Jane!) and to meet up with a great group of home-educating families in Kent. Radiotherapy was fine, super-efficiently organised and John did school while I rested. We galloped round on more visits around the country then he flew back to the boat on the 26th October. He was joined by Aidan, Nicola and Sam and they had a really rough few days sailing to Madeira. Harry & I flew here on the 12th November with a year’s worth of tamoxifen! The end - phew!
