Yacht Kids

Yacht Kids In Tenerife, at the Las Galletas marina, we came across a well-lived-in cruising yacht flying the Dutch flag. Canvas awnings, vegetables and fruit in nets beneath the solar panels, a grill hanging off the stern, and the smell of homemade soup... For a moment, a slim, tanned woman of about 35 appeared in the cockpit, then ducked back below. Two barefoot girls—yacht kids of about five and nine—were nimbly jumping down from the stern and clambering back aboard. They raced along the pontoon, trying to catch their cat, who had slipped away to explore the neighbouring boats. “Miki, come!”—the cat was offered a little bowl of treats. He would eat the offering and run off again. The older girl dashed back to the yacht for another helping, while the younger one stood guard over the pirate cat. Unfortunately, we were not there for long and never did move the yacht over for a stay. So we did not get the chance to meet them in person. But their younger yacht girl, wrapped in a skirt that was clearly far too big for her, strongly reminded us of our own yacht girl on our trek through the Southern Urals last summer. Hoping for hot weather, we had not brought waterproof trousers. And when it suddenly turned cold and wet, we had to cut down a pair of adult nylon waterproof trousers and tie them onto the child with a piece of rope :). Below are two photos for comparison. P.S. Incidentally, today is our yacht girl’s birthday! She is already four. Happy April Fools’ Day, everyone!!!