Our Sailing Life
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About Our Sailing Life
Introductions
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.
Watch ‘From The Beginning’ for more about this…
Prepare to set sail!
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.
Love Ross, Laura, Joshy & Noah.
