“We own a yacht… in Tahiti!!!” No words have ever been as fun to say.
But if you’d said that to us over 6 months ago we would have laughed. In fact, when we did start mentioning our sailing intentions to others, uneasy laughter was usually the response, or if they knew anything about sailing they would scaldingly say ‘but what do YOU know about sailing?’
But life moves quickly when you want it to, and now owning an ocean ready yacht is our reality.
And what DO we know about sailing?…
… as they say in French, un petit peu.
But that’s all going to change pretty quickly with what is no doubt a massive learning curve ahead of us! So although we’re definitely not weathered salty sea dogs (yet), in a short time we’ve already learnt so much, and we are continually trying hard to surround ourselves with the best people to soak up even more.
The idea of packing up life on land and setting sail came easily to us both, however the logistics behind the voyage have obviously been a little more consuming. On guidance for buying the right type of yacht (the make or break of such a trip really), DBY Boat Sales boat broker Rod Waterhouse has been invaluable in getting us going in the right direction from the start and talking us through the action plans needed to really make this idea happen. Over the past few years I have treated Rod’s wife Kerry and their son Jason (Olympic sailing silver medalist in Rio), and Rod just happened to need some shoulder rehab as this sailing idea was resurfacing in my brain. Physio sessions soon morphed into trip planning sessions, and as Rod’s infectious enthusiasm is impossible not to catch, the sailing seed was well and truly planted.
Rod quickly put us on track with what type of yacht to start looking at, and what to look for in each one (off shore ready, low engine hours, etc). And of course to make sure resale value worked out financially in our favour.
It all seemed too good to be true, so we cross checked a few facts with some trusted family friends with cruising experience, and they all seemed to be saying the same things.
So, the hunt for a yacht began.
Read more about Nick & Jess’s life changing journey and follow their blog….