Simon

One of the biggest rewards of cruising is the interesting people that you meet.

Last Friday night Arnold, Brenda and I went to dinner at the cruising club and met Simon, who was on his own and shared the table with us. Simon turned out to be a capable and accomplished sailor who has among other things competed in three transatlantic OSTAR solo races.

He was in solo transit from New Caledonia to Aukland in his beautiful Oyster that is about 55 feet in length and extremely well appointed.

I ordered my dinner using what I thought was a New Zealand accent from a joke that I had heard many years ago. I ordered "fush and chups". The girl instantly took the order down without any flicker of reaction.

Here are three photos:

- Simon's Oyster named "Duet II"

- Simon discussing weather information downloads via Iridium satellite telephones with Arnold

- Brenda beaming after having inspected Simon's galley