Finding Moksha: January 2014

It's been another crazy year for me, a busy one that has probably been reflective of the amount of updates that this blog has received. Here is the breakdown of the year.

January
Where was I? St. Martin, Sint Maarten, Antigua and Barbuda.
Writing this now, I didn't realise back then that I wouldn't be there again this year. It is the type of place that does get "boring" after a few months of being there, but now, 10 months on, I wish I was there. I see photo's of friends there right now and it does make me want to be back there, however, I am in Europe, and to experience my first legitimate winter Christmas is a plus (my last two Christmas's have also been in winter, however the Caribbean is not that wintery.

February
Where was I? Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Barthelemy.
February we were still in the Caribbean, we did some sailing around and not much else really.

March
Where was I? Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Sint Maarten, British Virgin Islands, St. Barthelemy.
March, one of the best parts of the year in the Caribbean, it is racing season, and after a quick 3 day trip to Guadeloupe for some sail tests, we were ready for the BVI and Bucket regatta's. For those playing at home, the new headsail we bought for the racing cost a mere $350,000 AUD. The racing was great, with the full gamut of winds from a sunny zero knots to over thirty knots in rain and thunder.

Zefira Racing - Caribbean 2013 from Jono Walker on Vimeo.

April
Where was I? Antigua and Barbuda, USA
After the racing finished, the season was done, and with that we took a trip up to California to have some time in San Francisco and Yosemite National Park. Both places are definitely places that must be visited. San Fran living up to it's reputation as the capital of all things different, and Yosemite blowing my mind with how good nature is a making things look fake.

May
Where was I? Crossing the Atlantic, The Azores, Spain, Italy
Another great month, crossing the Atlantic, this was my second trip across the Atlantic, and the best thing about this one was that my old man came along for the trip. The crossing was broken up with a weekend pitstop in the Azores before the last run in to the Mediterranean. Mum made the trip over to meet us at the other end, which gave them an opportunity to see Spain.

June
Where was I? Spain, Italy, Malta
Another month that was taken up with Racing, this time in Sardinia. The upgrade for this regatta was a new A2 Genakker, which at a bargain price of $120,000 AUD, really did improve our performances. That is until we ripped it in half, yep 2,000m2 of material floating 63m in the air, saying we had plenty on during those few minutes is an understatement! I still maintain that it is probably the biggest sail tear in the history of sailing. As for the racing, winds ranged from zero and maxed out at approximately 38knots (we didn't want to look after that), some great sailing and very tricky times.

Zefira Racing - Sardinia 2013 from Jono Walker on Vimeo.

July
Where was I? Turkey, Norway
After stopping in Malta for a few days, we made our way to Turkey, where we would be based for around three months. The real highlight of July is hands down Norway. Expensive, but worth every cent. Fjords, Waterfalls, Railways, Midnight Sun, Trolls, Summer Snow, and a little car that could. Norway, I think just about trumped Yosemite for fakeness.

August
Where was I? Turkey
Simple equation: Turkey + August + a 32 day guest trip = Hot + Testing

September
Where was I? Turkey, Greece, France, Monaco
Leaving Turkey for Palma in Spain and ending up Monaco after stopping off in Greece is what happened here. After hitting some bad weather, we simply had to stop in Zakinthos, and as a result ran out of time before the Monaco Boat Show. It also lead to my first visit back to France in almost 2 years.

October
Where was I? France, Monaco, Spain, Australia
After leaving France, we were back to our base in Palma, and finally some downtime after a hectic year so far. This gave me a chance to go home for a couple of weeks. First weekend back home and there is nothing more Australian, than a day at Octoberfest! That coupled with plenty of sailing, some surfing and a lot of overdue catch ups was a pretty good way to spend two weeks.

November
Where was I? Spain
A month of two halves. We spent the first half of November preparing for another Atlantic Crossing, and to say goodbye to Europe. However in the space of a couple of days that all changed with the boat being sold to new owners. Instead of the 3500nm trip across the Atlantic to the warm waters of the Caribbean, it ended up being stuck in Palma with the temperatures consistently dropping and the rain continuing to fall.

December
Where was I? Spain, France, Monaco
After leaving France in October, I honestly did not expect to be back in such a short time. So far we have tried to make the most of winter here. Going snowboarding in the French Alps, plenty of Christmas Markets, and just generally doing the culture stuff that people do in this part of the world.

That was my 2013 in a nutshell, here's to an even bigger and better 2014.