Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
or the Pacific in the tropics. There is no sweeter sound than tree frogs chirruping along such
a warm, tropical, evening beach, and there is nothing more stirring than the fragrant smell
of a flowering frangipani tree and the luck of spotting a group of fireflies in their frenzy to
find a mate. And, of course, there is the earthy smell of storm-driven seaweed on a beach
in the early morning, or the sight of a pink sunrise on a frothy, warm sea.
I am a confirmed non-conformist. A rebel if you will. A born introvert and outsider. I do
not do well in a crowd. My thoughts and actions are private and closely guarded. I prefer
to be alone, and I am positively antisocial. I have always felt this way, even at a very early
age, and the idea of slipping quietly away on a seagoing vessel with a sweet, loyal partner
was heaven to me. I desperately wanted a beautiful sailing craft as I saw in my mind's eye. I
was panting for the challenge of building such a bird, and the thought of sailing her around
the mighty oceans of the world and to chance upon some of the islands I had read about
was more than I could take, and while it was a humble beginning, I started the project on
a strong back of old scaffold boards and a few oil drums in a backyard. It grew in strength
and weight!
The universe definitely sends angels to those who are prepared to work hard towards their
goals and dreams. I am convinced that Judi was such an angel, and she arrived in my life at
the most perfect of moments. Without her personality and strength, building my boat may
have remained just a dream. The chances of our meeting were heavenly inspired as well.
It was closing time at midnight at a seaside resort pub, and on the whim of my twin brother,
we sauntered in and I saw and fell in love with a wildly gorgeous American girl called Judi.
Green-eyed, honey-blonde, curly headed, continually laughing and with such an accent, I
was smitten! But alas! No sooner had I fallen thus, when she and her friends took off down
the road in a little car, seemingly never to cross paths with me again. However, luck or fate
would have otherwise, and on our way home Gavin and I came across these four damsels
in distress with a flat tire! We soon had a spare on and were following the lovely ladies
back to Judi's parents' elegant holiday beach cottage.
Subtle little coincidences such as these makes one wonder; it just so happened that her fath-
er and my brother-in-law were competent boat builders, and that his neighbor was a profes-
sional boatbuilder, ready with advice and tips! Indeed, Mac, the canny, old Scot, provided
us with a free set of plans as well as the old metal frames made for his version of Déjà vu!
It was just enough to get me started on a trip that lasted well into my middle ages!
Judi and I joined forces in the early seventies when it was cool to wear bell-bottoms, smoke
cheroots, and do the disco scene. I think that those days were some of the happiest and most
memorable days of our lives. We laughed till the tears came, seldom fought, and loved and
drank hard. We had tons of warm friends, enough to go around for every day of the week
