DAY 389 – FRANCE: Guess who has a crew position…


OK, so I know I said that I wouldn’t be using an airplane to get back to NZ, so I guess that this is cheating just a little, but tomorrow I depart La Rochelle to fly back to London, and then from there fly to Tenerife, Spain – flights reimbursed by Reliance Yacht Management. Why? Because I have a position on a yacht delivery! Jolly stoked, and a little freaked out at the speed at which things are happening – weather permitting we set sail on Saturday (18th August) morning.

But the lowdown is that I will be assisting with the delivery of a Lagoon 420 catamaran from Tenerife, Spain, to Tortola, British Virgin Isles. From the British Virgin Isles I’m not 100% sure how I will get to the US yet, but I am sure I will be able to island hop there some how. I will most probably apply for my six month US tourist visa in Barbados.

My flight details for tomorrow are:

  • Flying out of La Rochelle at 10:50am 16th August, arriving Gatwick at 11:10am 16th August. Flight number 5040 on EasyJet.
  • Flying out of Gatwick on British Airways Charter Flight, flight number 6996. Departs London Gatwick 18:05pm Thursday 16 August 2007, arrives Tenerife, Spain, 22:25pm Thursday 16 August 2007.

So a really big thank you to Reliance Yacht Management for hooking me up with this. They have done a great job so far.

This great news in no way shadows the great time I had with Bart and his friends here in La Rochelle. It was far too short a stay, but I really enjoyed every moment of it. A good way to finish before the hard work and learning curve begins on Saturday.

Friendly hosts in La Rochelle, France

We were all staying at Garston’s place. A small studio apartment in a building nestled in amongst whitewashed narrow streets.

Garston's apartment in La Rochelle, France

Big merci to Garston!

Garston the model in La Rochelle, France

I must say that I am gutted that I couldn’t have spent some more time in London. There were some more people that I wanted to meet up with, but this yacht thing has been a bit of a whirlwind. You never know, I might be back.


Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

8 thoughts on “DAY 389 – FRANCE: Guess who has a crew position…

  • Rob Thomson Post author

    @ Wim – It will take up to 5 or 6 weeks to corss the Atlantic, and then a little extra time to get to the US from the British Virgin Isles, so I guess I will be starting again on the longboard at the end of September some time.

  • Aunty Lyn

    What a great adventure!! Interesting your conclusions on the French. I think when you step out of the "tourist" zone into the real zone of daily life you get a whole different view of people. Basically society survives on the fact that most people are, in fact, decent! Enjoy being a sailor. Grandad Bond loved the sea but was always seasick on the fishing boat we went out on at Stewart Island!Hope you have sea legs!

  • Chris J

    Hi Rob,

    All that work to get down to France and now you are headed right back to London. Deja vu huh? You obviously have somebody looking out for you as you seem to usually run into very kind and accomodating people exactly when you need to! I certainly hope that this will continue for you once in the US.

    I am as interested as anyone to see how that leg of your journey will go.

    Time now for a little sailing huh? Enjoy the trip. After visiting the Caribbean you may not want to go on to the US, who knows?

  • Suyi

    Hi Rob,

    Not sure if you remember, but we met at the busan hostel when you just got started on the journey. Amazing how it's been a year, and congratulations on reaching your (initial 🙂 goal!

    Look forward to reading more of your exciting adventures. Seems like things are only getting more interesting from here onwards.

    Cheers

  • Ailsa

    Hi Rob, Fiona here.

    Ailsa is away surfing and camping this weekend…

    Congrats on getting on a yacht so quickly! Really hope you enjoy it!

    Still sunny in London 🙂