“I wished I could beg our captain to let us sail along the coast for the entire holiday,” begins the story by The Guardian journalist Amy Fleming. A catamaran vacation in the south of France organized to celebrate her sister’s fiftieth birthday, finally reunited with her Australian family after three years apart due to the pandemic. An invitation that seemed like the perfect opportunity to spend time together, but turned out to be more complicated than expected.
The story
The wind was much stronger than anticipated and the rough sea made the boat continuously lurch. The crew was anxious during each crossing, and a sail had to be urgently lowered because a rope got stuck; even the anchor, during a stop, started dragging the catamaran out to sea. In short, the beginning felt like a horror movie.
But that wasn’t all: the mother fell down the steep cabin stairs—fortunately without fractures, but with many bruises and a big scare. A sliding door got completely jammed, forcing everyone to enter and exit the cabin through the roof hatches. The mother, still in pain and too petite to manage, was stuck inside for about a day.
A positive ending
Tension, fear, and numerous setbacks—but despite everything, the holiday also left some positive memories, as the journalist emphasizes: “The adventure, though far from the idea of a relaxing week at sea, strengthened family bonds, offering unforgettable moments and allowing us to share an extraordinary experience with our dearest loved ones.” All’s well that ends well.
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