Becoming Locals

20-26 JULY 2019

This past week has been an emotional one. On Saturday morning we said our last goodbye, as Ben’s sister and her family continued their holiday in Spain. After months of parties, celebrations, and visits all around the globe, we were suddenly left with an unbearable quietness. In the stillness of our friend’s country house in the middle of France, the weight of the past four years in getting to this point, and everything we are yet to undertake, suddenly sank in. 

There was an immense feeling of homesickness, yet we no longer have a home to miss. There was a great feeling of sadness for the life we’ve left behind, and a longing for all the friends and family we won’t see for a long time to come. The grief was real and the tears seemed endless. It was an emptiness that sat heavily on my heart for days. 

Yet, it did not take us long to settle into our limbo state. No going back, and unable to move forward, we are embracing the chance to just be. No work commitments, nowhere to be, and nothing to do. Just a house in the sun and food on the table. How often does anyone get an opportunity like this?

And as with everything in life, the passing of time made everything easier to bear, and also bought with it a change in mood. Just a few days later we were in La Rochelle to meet with our broker representative Romain for a face-to-face on the next steps in the process for receiving our boat. We also met with Uchimata (our aftermarket fit-out team), sail trainer Alain Girard, and some other boat owners down at the marina.

But more exciting than all of that, we got to see our new home for the VERY FIRST time! We weren’t sure where the boat was or if it was even in the water, but as Romain led us down the pontoon, s/v Long Summer sat gleaming in the summer sun, all shiny and new. This was actually the first time we had ever set foot on a Fountaine Pajot Astréa... We had bought her off the plans; a bit like purchasing a new build house without seeing the display home first. Four years of hard work, planning, saving, dreaming and scheming were sat there in the flesh. So the range of emotions were varied (including more tears)!

Although there is still a lot of work to do on the yacht (fitting the sails, adding lifelines, installing the watermarker, putting in the solar panels, etc.), she was absolutely stunning. The kids were so excited to explore their new home, see their bedrooms and bounce on the trampolines. After talking about this boat for the whole of Sully’s life, he was finally able to see what his parents had been working hard for all these years. Needless to say, we were very reluctant to say goodbye to s/v Long Summer knowing that we had another six weeks to wait before moving aboard.

For the next few days we spent some quality time together as a family, getting to know the local area. Food shopping at the marché in Saujon, a picnic in the castle grounds of Pons, a walk around the city of Saintes, and playing in the garden. Becoming Charentais-Maritimes - inhabitants of Charente-Maritime - has been a rollercoaster ride. (Not least of all because we seem to always get lost the second we leave the house, and can’t cope without Google Maps!) We can’t wait to see what the next few weeks bring…