I took 2 weeks off from the boat in Chile and went home to England to see my parents we did lots of Christmassy activities and put up a fake Christmas tree.

Next stop was New Jersey to see my brothers family for Thanksgiving where we cut down a real Christmas tree from a farm and went to see the Christmas Spectacular at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City. It is cold in New Jersey so they are making use of the synthetic down jackets I got them in Nepal last year.

Then back to the UK for work on the 82 footer that is being rebuilt at Oyster in Southampton, early Christmas with the Whytes and Perrins and work on my 30 footer Santana that I own with my brother.

During my time away we (my brother’s family and myself) decided to adopt a dog from Puerto Montt who had been hit by a truck in the Marina just before I left. So I have been in full investigation mode and organizing Pincoya’s paperwork and transport.

The trip back from UK was a nightmare and involved a few hours in a hotel room in Madrid (if you could call it a hotel!) and a few hours in a hotel room in Santiago. It should have taken 24 hours and instead it took 48 hours. Zac was at the airport waiting to board the flight I got off of and told me where the car was. I got back to the boat mid morning and just started working as I was in that mode. When I finally got to sleep on Monday night I had slept around 9 hours since waking up Friday morning in Cowes Isle of Wight!

I left the boat at 5pm on Friday night and drove to Lago San Todas just up the road from Ensenada. It was raining and getting dark when I arrived on the shore of the lake and luckily there was a single boatman looking for his last fare to the other side of the river. I had called ahead to a farmhouse that was listed in Lonely Planet (though without a phone number but Google solved that) and in very bad Spanish I asked if there was a room available. The room was rustic (chipboard walls) but there was a lovely fire going and the old lady using mime put dinner in front of me. There were piglets running around in the yard along with the usual cats, dogs, roosters, chickens etc.

 Saturday morning I woke up to a beautiful view of the lake surrounded by mountains and went to the CONAF to log in a walk which took me 4 hours through the forest and then alongside the lake.

I called the rafting company to see if they had room for one. Quickly jumping in my car I managed to join in with a group of 5 guys from Santiago. It was interesting trying to respond to Spanish commands from the guide. Had a great time and even went down a rapid outside the raft when they said we could jump in if we wanted!

Back in Puerto Montt by 6pm and in time to watch a soccer game at the stadium across from the boat. Quite a fun filled Saturday off and Sunday is a work day but as the weather was not nice I didn’t mind so much!

Rob died just over one year ago from lung cancer– an otherwise very healthy 58 year-old guy who never smoked.

Help us raise money for the #1 cancer killer — lung cancer by bidding on some amazing items donate by Rob’s friends and associates. This online auction is part of the fundraising efforts of the 1st Rob Moore Memorial Regatta, being held on February 16, 2013 in conjunction with the CYC Midwinter Regatta. Jointly organized by the Corinthian Yacht Club and the Bay Area Racing Federation, all proceeds from this auction will go directly to the National Lung Cancer Partnership to support lung cancer research and awareness.

http://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/item/Browse.action?auctionId=186418954

Thanks to the best sister in law for having my nieces and nephew send me the special birthday greetings!

Learning about how to rescue a marine mammal with grandma.

In the carriers like a seal…

Unfortunately all the seals that were better had already been released back into the wild to be home for the holidays.

I was on call for the Marine Mammal Center last week. There are not normally many calls at this time of year so I helped out loading four sea lions to be released at Chimney Rock. One was a big guy and the others small.

I got one call to go an assess a sea lion at Kirby Cove. which was quite lethargic and malnurished. I will have to get to know what sea lions normally act like as they are different to furries.

I hung out at the beach which had a beautiful view of SF while two people came down from the center and two other rescue volunteers. We wheeled the cage down to the beach. The stranding intern had the net and ran in to attempt to capture it however, a big wave came in and took out Ben who was boarding in an attempt to stop her from making her way into the surf. I was also in the surf so got a little damp but not as damp as Ben got.

A beautiful view of Rodeo Beach from the Marine Mammal Center.

The Davis and I went out for mexican dinner then onto the bowling alley.

Lori Fromm of the Women’s Auxilary at SFYC called me out of the blue in October and asked if I would accept the Nancy Rodgers Race Grant from SFYC. Normally it is a surprise award that is presented at the womens auxilary luncheon in November. This is the second time the award has been given. As I have never been to the luncheon in previous years they had to call me to get me to come.

It was a very nice surprise and rather embaressing when they talked about me before presenting me with the trophy.

Close up of the trophy – this was the second time that it was awarded. The deed of gift is that it is to be given to a woman who is a member of the club that has raced nationally, internationally at a high level intends to continue participation and is an ambassador for women in the club.

I was presented with a silver bowl to take home with me filled with beautifully scented flowers.

The money from the grant will be used to pay some of my GMDSS (Global Maritime Distress Safety Systems) course that I will take in the spring time.

I didn’t take the above picture but it was the view I had from Darling while I was working on her this morning. Pretty amazing seeing it go by just above Sausalito with a fighter jet just behind it.

After work I headed over to Stinson beach for my friend David’s rehearsal dinner and caught up with some old sailing friends. I love the drive out there this time of year the california coast is stunning.

The sunset at the beach was stunning and the food delicous. Back home early as I have to get Darling ready for a day cruise on the bay tomorrow so it will be 6am wake up to get to the boat at first light. A relief skipper will have the helm so I can head back over to Stinson for the wedding.

Looking forward to it.

The last S is that my right shoulder has been giving me some gyp the last few days so I am biking instead of swimming in the morning and today I had a deep tissue massage to attempt a fix but it is still not a happy situation. Finding it hard to use my arm so I am hoping it will fix itself with some time off swimming.

After todays meeting at The Marine Mammal Center I am officially an active volunteer. Based on the experience I gained in South Georgia working with animals under Ali’s tutelage they are allowing me to start with stranding rescues without doing the courses (which aren’t until next spring). Looking forward to rescuing some mammals in the bay :-). As an aside in two weeks I will be out on the Baylis tagging white sharks at the Farlonnes I am looking forward to seeing how this is all done. Will post pictures…