 |
| Entering Fox's Marina |
After six weeks at Fox's Marina we are now ready to depart Sabbaticus for the final time. Sabbaticus is now for sale and is gleaming from all the TLC over the last few weeks. The 'Sale Prep' list of 52 tasks is completed, 3 cubic meters personal/boat effects packed ready for shipping to NZ and our bags packed for a holiday to Prague before heading home. 
Our berth is a short walk from the dock to the yacht club facilities and is adjacent to the travel lift ensuring there is plenty to watch as boats of all sizes are lifted out of the water. The 70 tonne hoist is able to handle boats up to 80ft in length and is used daily. We always enjoy watching the Wind Farm Cat's being lifted and the tight maneuvering required to get into the travel lift with literally inches to spare.
Life is never dull in the marina as there is always something to see or people to talk with. The yacht club has been social with several BBQs held with band's playing which has been good to join in. We have enjoyed catching up with friends, including Martin & Caron who we first met at anchorage in Turkey. Fast forward 12mths and Martin and Caron are at Fox's having purchased their Oyster so we enjoyed a celebratory dinner with them. The only negative about the marina is the local bird population which seems to have Sabbaticus in their target as we get daily 'deposits' including exploded berries that make a mess on the teak and require bleaching to remove the stains. Unfortunately we also had a swan crash land on deck after hitting the rigging on the boat next door. Thankfully Steve saw it happen and came aboard to alert us so the rescue could begin. The swan appeared disorientated (not surprisingly) and was struggling to move off the deck. After calming the swan Steve carried her off Sabbaticus where she waited for animal rescue services. It was out with the hose again to clean the decks after this crash landing.
We enjoyed a day trip to
Cambridge University which was better than expected with the beautiful
buildings, parks, canals and (not surprisingly) is packed with history.
Cambridge was founded in 1209 and is the second-oldest University in the English-speaking world, is the wealthiest Uni in the UK and comprises 31 colleges including three women only ones. The oldest publishing house in the world is the Cambridge University Press.
Interestingly Cambridge's libraries hold around 15 million books and as a
legal deposit library is entitled to request a free copy of every book
published in the UK and Ireland - just some of the facts learned during our
walking tour. 
As this is our last Sabbaticus travel blog we thought a summary of our sailing log was required - if only to remind of us when we are back at work of the adventures. Our first sail was on 30 July 2014 and since then we have visited Belgium, Guernsey, France, Spain, Balearic Islands, Portugal, Gibraltar, Sardinia, Sicily, Greece, Crete and Turkey. We left Ipswich sailing across the Med to Turkey returning to Ipswich in July 2016. We covered a total of 7,914NM; sailing for approximately 52% of this distance and motoring for a total of 760hrs. We depart Sabbaticus with great memories of our sailing travels and friends made along the way and have included a short video clip below from some of these memories. Kudos to John for skippering Sabbaticus safely and as the first mate (and at times the worst mate) more importantly I'm still the best mate who is ready to join the Skipper for phase two. It is now back to reality as we leave Sabbaticus to return to our Wellington home for a few years to plan the next sailing adventure.
 |
| Kings College Cambridge University |
 |
| Sabbaticus's final move into the Oyster brokerage yard |
