Last week, Jonathan accompanied a customer to Toulon, France to assist in inspecting an Amel 64. While he was there, our friend George from Paris met with Jon and assisted him in the inspection.

We met George and his family 21 years ago in Jacare, a tiny village in Brazil. It was a meeting place for cruisers who had crossed the Atlantic from Europe and South Africa. George and his family had crossed from France on their Bavaria 38 and we from South Africa on our Young Sun 35.

We cruised the northern coast of Brazil together and then parted ways for a couple of years. They headed to Martinique to find work and we found work as captain and mate with the catamaran charter company Trade Winds Cruise Club, traversing the Caribbean.

Two years later, we were ready to start cruising again, so we met up in Trinidad and buddy-boated through Venezuela and the ABC Islands.

We parted ways in Curaçao when they headed for the San Blas Islands and Panama Canal and we turned north to Haiti, Cuba, & the U.S.

We are thankful for this lasting friendship made through shared experiences in a unique lifestyle, and we are proud for George to don the first YaZu cap in Europe!