At the lion fish barbeque in Carriacou I was so lucky to meet Anne-Laure and Amaury who were going to sail down to Grenada the next morning and let me hitch a ride with them.
Compared to other boats I have been on, I must say that theirs, la Orana was the most relaxed which I thought was really nice. Sailing started after we had all had some coffee and cigarettes- and it was a smooth sail from then until we reached Grenada almost seven hours later. There were probably more adjustments that could be made to get even higher speed, but instead we just relaxed, had some beer and a good pasta salad that Anne had made and passed the time talking.
Anne and Amaury were living and working on the boat together with their four kids who were well adapted to the routines on the boat and eager to help out with the sailing. It seemed like a way healthier life for kids at sea, being outdoors and learning practical skills that a normal class room would not have tought them. Seeing this kind of gave me the inspirational feeling I had after watching the movie Captain Fantastic where I asked myself why not more families chose to adapt a more alternative lifestyle.
Their kids Aurore, Maxime and Xavier in charge of the flags
We had been lucky with winds and except for some currents that made the kids a bit nauseous, we had the best possible day sailing. After this experience I felt like I could fully understand the famous expression “it’s all about the journey… not the destination”
The frenchies started their trip in Marseille and have been sailing for over a year now. You can follow their journey on (in French): www.larguons.com