Sophie is spending the Christmas Holiday in a harbor in the island of Gam with the other cruising yachts Per Ardua, Honey, Nalukai, Blue Star, Ocelot, and Villa G. There are ten children between the ages of 6 and 11 in our little fleet. Everyone here is enjoying a relaxing, family-oriented holiday.

We were greeted on Christmas Eve morning by a couple of large manta rays swimming slowly off Sophie’s bow. One even did a barrel roll and showed us his white belly. This is a Christmas first for us.

The kids spent the day making presents and then preparing for a Christmas pageant that we hosted on Sophie’s foredeck in the late afternoon. The pageant was organized by Jude off of the Catana Honey. She is a former schoolteacher and came prepared with multiple clipboards with laminated stage instructions.

I must confess that I love calling the yacht Honey using our VHF radio. “Honey, Honey, Honey … this is Sophie, over.”

Leo played the role of a shepherd, and of course he made a shepherd’s crook out of Lego.

He looked over a flock of sheep along with a cow with horns made out of screwdrivers.

Hazel, in case you had any doubt, played the role of the blessed virgin Mary, mother of Jesus. Samuel played her husband Jospeh. Other children performed as the Archangel Gabriel, the innkeeper, the three wise people, and a star. The performance was lovely.

Afterwards the Christmas music went back on and the girls resumed the ongoing dance party on Sophie’s trampoline.

People returned to Sophie for a Christmas Eve potluck dinner after sunset. It’s an Utzschneider family tradition for the youngest child to read the story of Christ’s birth from Luke, and Hazel did so with confidence and excellent audience eye contact with each turn of the page.

We then broke out the guitars and sang Christmas songs. Here’s a shot of me and Peter from Per Ardua getting our Irish on and belting out “Fairytale of New York.”

It was a great day, and we only wish that Sara, Max, and others from our family back home could have been here to share it with us.

Children across our little fleet were all pleased to learn on Christmas morning that Santa Claus had paid us all a visit. Hazel got a couple of Indonesian dresses, and Leo thinks his new Liverpool football Jersey and Ferrari hat make him look like he works in a Formula One pit crew.

What do you think?

We all then went over to Nalukai for Christmas coffee, and then everyone returned to their boats for quiet family time and naps. Then we all played in the water on kayaks and the relaxation station, followed by another potluck on Sophie.

This has been one of our best Christmases ever.

Today is Boxing Day here, and there are no fascinators for us this year. Jenna and I just took the boat up to Wasai to collect our friend Steve along with 7 cases of beer, and the kids are back with the fleet playing games and sports events.

we’ll be back online tomorrow. Merry Christmas everyone!