The Yacht Race...

My uncle and cousin (the ones we went to Greece with in 2006) are taking part in a yacht race from Cape Town to St Helena bay at the moment. It's called The Governor's Cup and you can check out the leader board on the Governor's Cup website: http://www.thegovernorscup.co.za/. Their yacht's called 'Aurora' and they're currently in third position, just behind a yacht called 'Lusty', upon which, coincidentally, Jacques' aunt and uncle are racing. It's been neck and neck most of the way and until 2 days ago, 'Aurora' was ahead of 'Lusty'. It doesn't actually matter where the boats are lying though, it's all based on handicaps, so, at the end of the day, the guy who crosses first, isn't necessarily the winner...

Jake & I went down to the V & A Waterfront on 29 Dec with my folks, to meet up with the family and to wave farewell to the 14 (or 15) yachts leaving the harbour. Each team has matching shirts and caps, indicating their yacht's name and the yachts depart alphabetically to the cheers of the gathered crowds. I felt quite emotional watching the yachts leave...

Jake & Eve watching the seals. It's Eve's grandfather and uncle who taking part in the race... Live entertainment for the kids. I was quite concerned that these two seals were going to do "the deed" in front of Jake and Eve. I've already got my fair share of questions to answer with Connor on the way...

A mother's love comes in all shapes and sizes. These two were really sweet and I was quite upset to see that the baby has a bit of string tied tightly around it's neck. It's going to cause the poor thing endless worry as he grows bigger... See? They are cute sometimes. This was early in the morning though, so they were fresh. Check back at 6pm... Jake's not all that keen on getting too close to girls at the moment. These pictures were forced upon him...

The yachts all lined up and ready to set sail... My uncle waiting patiently to leave. They were busy doing a blessing for all the yachts... Ummm... just messing around, but I quite like this photo anyway... Another seal enjoying the sunshine. I'm not so sure that I'd be brave enough to walk past it to get on that yacht though... From the other side - check the crowd... That's my cousin and my uncle, again. Glad to see they're actually doing some of the hard work themselves. Hard work - HA! Fender-lifting is the complete opposite. It's what I opted to do whenever we entered and departed the various ports we visited in Greece... There they go... This is 'Lusty', with Jacques' Aunt & Uncle on board. Pete's the guy in the middle with the white shorts on and Sue's the one with the board. Sue's gone with as their chef. Their boat has the overall highest average age... After 'Aurora's' official departure, we met up with them again on the other side of the harbour for a drink. They ended up getting involved helping another yacht repair something, so after we'd had a quick lunch at Quay Four, we walked across to the pier to send them on their way... Jake was given the task of releasing the rope from the quay, which he took very seriously... They're free and on their way... From the main harbour, they had to motor their way out into Table Bay, where they met up with the other yachts. The actual race only began about an hour later... After our trip through to the harbour, we went to Jo & Paul's house to feed their cat and to let Gemma out for a bit. Jo and Paul were away for a week or so with friends. I took advantage of not having them around and snapped a couple of shots of Connor's bedroom. I can't believe Jo's so organised, all that's missing is the baby... The wardrobe's even packed and ready. She's got a few essentials still missing off the shelves, but she's still got a baby shower coming up, so hopefully the cupboard will be fuller by the time Connor's born... This is the theme for the room. The decorator's still busy, so this is just a blanket. Cute, hey?? I can't wait to meet my little nephew...