Sigh...

 ...I guess that's not going to happen...

I was browsing Instagram last night and came across an ad for crew to sail on single, or multiple, legs of the next Round-The-World yacht race. Having done some sailing in the early 2000's, it piqued my interest and I downloaded the information package provided by their link. The package contained all the information you needed to tell you what skills were required (virtually none) and what the race entailed, including the various legs to make up the whole.

I was interested in the leg from Brazil back to Cape Town, seeing as I would need to fly out from South Africa to wherever my chosen leg was going to start from. Additionally, if I didn't get off in Cape Town, I would also have to fly back to SA from the destination city. Made total sense to do the Brazil/SA leg.

To enable participation in the race, you would also have to do a compulsory 26-days training schedule. That's not a bad idea, seeing as I last sailed in 2000, when I sailed from Durban to Zanzibar. That also had me doing some training courses with the Ocean Sailing Academy in Durban. A whole month spent on a yacht, mostly tied up in the yacht basin, but also lots of hands-on sailing practice in Durban harbour and offshore. Good times...

These courses would be a good idea to get my head around sailing things again, like knots, terminology, sail practices, maintenance, and so on.

I was excited to think of getting back on the water again, until I saw the prices I would be faced with...

- Mandatory courses - GBP 6,700

- Leg 2 costs - GBP 7,000

- Flight to UK for training - GBP 510

- Flight to Brazil for start of Leg 2 - GBP 300

- Grand Total - GBP 14,510

It doesn't sound too bad when you consider what is all included in that total. The shock comes when you convert it back to good old Souf Efrican Ront....... ZAR 342,870 give or take a few cents.

So, yeah...... {sigh}....end of dream...

Look after yourselves out there, folks...