Hello! Lets start by introducing ourselves. We are Ross, Laura, Joshua and Noah. Back in 2018 we decided to up sticks, leave the rat race, our suburban home in the UK and all it’s creature comforts to literally set sail into the unknown! From here our new Sailing life was born…
Sailing Life from the beginning….
It all started back in 2018 where I (Ross) surprised Laura and our two children by buying ‘Holly Blue’ – a 42ft Bavaria sailing yacht. This was a lifetime dream realised for me, and it marked the start of our sailing adventures as a family together.
We learnt how to sail and handle Holly Blue by enjoying a summer of sailing up and down the coasts near Plymouth in the South West of the UK. It was a nerve-wrecking time as it became very apparent how little I knew about sailing! Although some dinghy sailing experience I had gained as a teenager was very useful – piloting a 42ft sailing yacht proved to be a lot different!
It was around July 2018 that we decided to make a huge life change. Leaving the security of my job and selling the minority share of the business that I was working with was a tough call. We were what many would consider ‘financially comfortable’ and had a nice car, a recently renovated house, the boys were happy at school and Laura was a PT and Online Coach.
To others we may have seemed that we had it all figured out. However, one size does not fit all. This ‘perfect’ life just didn’t suit our wild and adventurous natures and we felt permanently bogged down by societal expectations. Money meant little to us. Laura and I had always yearned for a life in the sun and we wanted to show the boys the value of travel, and the simplicity of sailing life. We pulled the boys out of school and prepared everything to leave England for a life of adventure and unknown. All that seems like a dream now – time rushed by and everything just came together.
What happened next?
In March 2019 Laura and the kids flew to Cyprus where they stayed with her parents near Paphos. They enjoyed precious family time there and it was great for the boys to spend time with their grandparents. Unfortunately there is a big twist in this part of the story – Laura was rushed to hospital.
Whilst Laura and the kids were away, My father and I (Ross) worked hard preparing Holly Blue to sail ocean passages and the long journey that lay ahead. We had some technical issues to deal with, for example – the auto pilot and radio were not working. We managed to resolve most of the problems and, with a great sigh of relief, it all came together in the end!
The last thing for us to undergo was an ICC exam in order to gain a pass Certificate. This is a requirement to be able to sail in the Mediterranean. We passed the exam and managed to acquire the certificate, just in the nick of time.
The day finally came and on 22nd April 2019, we left and sailed into the sunset across the English Channel.
My father and I worked well as a team, we shared night watches and great experiences along the way.
The plan was to sail from Plymouth to Cyprus, where I had secured a berth at the St Raphael Marina. I had paid for this in advance to give us some security and I guess it was bit like an insurance policy. It was impossible to predict how Laura and the boys would take to sailing life and it was re-assuring knowing Laura’s parents were near by in Cyprus.
Oh No! What changed?
We fell in love with Greece! Well, and some other things happened…..
The journey was emotional – I crossed dangerous passages and Laura was admitted to hospital and experienced a huge fybromyalgia flare-up whilst waiting for me.
It was very hard being apart for so long and we really missed each other. Therefore we decided to break up the last part of the journey by meeting up in Mykonos. We chose this Greek Island as it was easy to fly and sail to. The moment that we saw each other and were re-united was amazing! We fell in love with Greece and really started to enjoy sailing life together in the Greek Islands. Naturally we did not want to be separated again and became unsure how to move forwards with the last part of the journey.
It was here that our plans veered slowly over the remainder of the season into a whole new direction! We appeared on the Channel 5 TV series ‘My New Greek Life’ and never actually left the Greek Islands! We scrapped the original plan, accepted a financial loss (we had paid for a Marina up front) and said good bye to Ross’s Dad.
Was it worth it?
We will let you be the judge of that! If you watch our YouTube sailing episodes, they tell you our story and show you an honest account of our new sailing lifestyle. Also how truly beautiful the Greek Islands are and the culture we see along the way.
Live aboard sailing life isn’t always easy. You need a strong personality and determination to get through the tough times. However the highs far outweigh the lows, and we continually have experiences that take our breath away.
We do our best to continue our dream life whilst working hard to manage everything and maintain balance.
Sailing Life and what we do….
One thing I have learnt about sailing life is that there is much todo and know! Laura continues to work as an online coach, just as she did before leaving the UK. In addition to this she also co-produces our sailing videos and oversee’s our Boat Fit membership area.
I am co-producer and editor of our YouTube sailing channel and take care of website management. In addition to this, I am Captain of course! This means I am in charge of planning sailing trips and maintaining Holly Blue.
Boat School
If you are wondering how we continue education, the boys are homeschooled by Laura and we call it Boat School! Josh actually has ADHD and struggles with focusing amongst other physical and behavioural tendencies typical of this condition. However he is extremely bright. Therefore we feel blessed to be able to give him the one to one educational support and meet his incredible thirst for knowledge – that previous educational establishments were limited with.
As you can imagine life is always busy (and noisy), we have had to learn to manage all areas of our sailing life to make it work!
The future holds big plans, hopes and more dreams of high seas and self-discovery….we would love to have you join in and be part of it all.
Ross works very hard on the YouTube Episodes and he never complains, his aim is to create light hearted entertainment to be enjoyed over a cold beer… If you think he deserves one, you can buy him one here. Cheers! 🍺
3.00 £
{"id":null,"mode":"form","open_style":"in_place","currency_code":"GBP","currency_symbol":"\u00a3","currency_type":"decimal","blank_flag_url":"https:\/\/sailinghollyblue.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/blank.gif","flag_sprite_url":"https:\/\/sailinghollyblue.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/tip-jar-wp\/\/assets\/images\/flags\/flags.png","default_amount":500,"top_media_type":"featured_image","featured_image_url":"https:\/\/sailinghollyblue.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/ross2-200x200.png","featured_embed":"","header_media":null,"file_download_attachment_data":null,"recurring_options_enabled":true,"recurring_options":{"never":{"selected":true,"after_output":"One time only"},"weekly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every week"},"monthly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every month"},"yearly":{"selected":false,"after_output":"Every year"}},"strings":{"current_user_email":"","current_user_name":"","link_text":"Leave a tip","complete_payment_button_error_text":"Check info and try again","payment_verb":"Pay","payment_request_label":"SAILING HOLLY BLUE","form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","general_server_error":"Something isn't working right at the moment. Please try again.","form_title":"SAILING HOLLY BLUE","form_subtitle":null,"currency_search_text":"Country or Currency here","other_payment_option":"Other payment option","manage_payments_button_text":"Manage your payments","thank_you_message":"Thank you for your support! It is really appreciated :)","payment_confirmation_title":"SAILING HOLLY BLUE","receipt_title":"Your Receipt","print_receipt":"Print Receipt","email_receipt":"Email Receipt","email_receipt_sending":"Sending receipt...","email_receipt_success":"Email receipt successfully sent","email_receipt_failed":"Email receipt failed to send. Please try again.","receipt_payee":"Paid to","receipt_statement_descriptor":"This will show up on your statement as","receipt_date":"Date","receipt_transaction_id":"Transaction ID","receipt_transaction_amount":"Amount","refund_payer":"Refund from","login":"Log in to manage your payments","manage_payments":"Manage Payments","transactions_title":"Your Transactions","transaction_title":"Transaction Receipt","transaction_period":"Plan Period","arrangements_title":"Your Plans","arrangement_title":"Manage Plan","arrangement_details":"Plan Details","arrangement_id_title":"Plan ID","arrangement_payment_method_title":"Payment Method","arrangement_amount_title":"Plan Amount","arrangement_renewal_title":"Next renewal date","arrangement_action_cancel":"Cancel Plan","arrangement_action_cant_cancel":"Cancelling is currently not available.","arrangement_action_cancel_double":"Are you sure you'd like to cancel?","arrangement_cancelling":"Cancelling Plan...","arrangement_cancelled":"Plan Cancelled","arrangement_failed_to_cancel":"Failed to cancel plan","back_to_plans":"\u2190 Back to Plans","update_payment_method_verb":"Update","sca_auth_description":"Your have a pending renewal payment which requires authorization.","sca_auth_verb":"Authorize renewal payment","sca_authing_verb":"Authorizing payment","sca_authed_verb":"Payment successfully authorized!","sca_auth_failed":"Unable to authorize! Please try again.","login_button_text":"Log in","login_form_has_an_error":"Please check and fix the errors above","uppercase_search":"Search","lowercase_search":"search","uppercase_page":"Page","lowercase_page":"page","uppercase_items":"Items","lowercase_items":"items","uppercase_per":"Per","lowercase_per":"per","uppercase_of":"Of","lowercase_of":"of","back":"Back to plans","zip_code_placeholder":"Zip\/Postal Code","download_file_button_text":"Download File","input_field_instructions":{"tip_amount":{"placeholder_text":"How much would you like to tip?","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How much would you like to tip? Choose any currency."},"invalid_curency":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please choose a valid currency."}},"recurring":{"placeholder_text":"Recurring","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"How often would you like to give this?"}},"name":{"placeholder_text":"Name on Credit Card","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter the name on your card."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please enter the name on your card."}},"privacy_policy":{"terms_title":"Terms and conditions","terms_body":null,"terms_show_text":"View Terms","terms_hide_text":"Hide Terms","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."},"unchecked":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Please agree to the terms."},"checked":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"I agree to the terms."}},"email":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email address"},"not_an_email_address":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Make sure you have entered a valid email address"}},"note_with_tip":{"placeholder_text":"Your note here...","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"empty":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"not_empty_initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Attach a note to your tip (optional)"},"saving":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Saving note..."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Note successfully saved!"},"error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to save note note at this time. Please try again."}},"email_for_login_code":{"placeholder_text":"Your email address","initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your email to log in."}},"login_code":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"success":{"instruction_type":"success","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"blank":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Check your email and enter the login code."}},"stripe_all_in_one":{"initial":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"empty":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"success":{"instruction_type":"normal","instruction_message":"Enter your credit card details here."},"invalid_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is not a valid credit card number."},"invalid_expiry_month":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration month is invalid."},"invalid_expiry_year":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is invalid."},"invalid_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is invalid."},"incorrect_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incorrect."},"incomplete_number":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card number is incomplete."},"incomplete_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incomplete."},"incomplete_expiry":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration date is incomplete."},"incomplete_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code is incomplete."},"expired_card":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card has expired."},"incorrect_cvc":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's security code is incorrect."},"incorrect_zip":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's zip code failed validation."},"invalid_expiry_year_past":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card's expiration year is in the past"},"card_declined":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The card was declined."},"missing":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"There is no card on a customer that is being charged."},"processing_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"An error occurred while processing the card."},"invalid_request_error":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"Unable to process this payment, please try again or use alternative method."},"invalid_sofort_country":{"instruction_type":"error","instruction_message":"The billing country is not accepted by SOFORT. Please try another country."}}}},"fetched_oembed_html":false}
