Governor's Cup 2010 Entrant - 8 February 2010
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The James Family, Iza
We are the James Family - Leon, Nicola, Zoe (6) Nina (3). We have been living aboard our Maxim 38’ Catamaran “IZA” since September 2009. Iza means “come” in Xhosa. This is our new home and it will be for the next few years as we travel around the world.
When we met 12 years ago, Leon was Skipper of a Catamaran in Fort Lauderdale and I was his guest! I knew nothing about sailing but knew that I wanted to learn. It was the lifestyle more than the sailing that I was drawn to. After returning to SA we started working – Leon did a few deliveries to the States and Carribbean in between starting his Timber Construction Business.
Then the girls were born and we thought that we would never “sail away”. Four years ago when I did my Day Skippers ticket, we started thinking about our “sailing future” and weather we would ever do it. Two years ago we made the decision to sell the house and buy a boat. We set a date – the Governors Cup 2010 – and we stuck to it. From when we moved on board, it’s as if our cruising lifestyle has already started. Just living aboard and meeting so many interesting people who are doing it or who have done it makes it so much more exciting. Zoe will complete Grade 1 this year at Springfield Convent and we will homeschool from when we leave.
Our plan is to head Westwards after St Helena to Brazil, French Guiana, Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Grenadines. Then onto the Panama Canal and into the Pacific, Galapagos, Marquesas, French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Darwin (Aus), and into the Indian Ocean. We will return via Cocos Islands, Maldives, Chagos, Seychelles, Madagascar, Mozambique, Durban, Cape Town! We plan on travelling for 5 years could be longer, who knows, we have not set any timelines or dates.
Our voyage is about us as a family, slowing down and getting to enjoy life’s little moments that are often missed in our hectic lives.
