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22. The day before we purchase our 56′ Oyster

56 Oyster Yacht

The day before we purchase our 56′ Oyster

The best way to describe my life right now is by calling it a whirlwind. Today is Saturday. On Wednesday loads of our possessions went into long-term storage. On Thursday the moving truck was packed up and we moved our leftover stuff from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, UK to Gosport (not sure what county I’m in now). On Friday I spent the day unpacking with a brief visit to my daughter’s new pre-school and the local high street for milk and bread. Today we have a list a mile long of imperative things ‘to-do’ before we leave for Palma, Mallorca, to buy our dream boat, our 56′ Oyster, which we’re doing tomorrow!

Everything all happening at once – we couldn’t have planned it to happen this way

During the course of one week, we’ve sold our 6-bed house and our Moody 35′ sailboat and we’ve purchased (and taken possession of) a new 2-bed flat on the South coast and we’re just about to buy our 56′ Oyster Yacht and sail it from Palma to Gibraltar (3 – 4 days non-stop sail). We couldn’t have planned for all of this to happen at the same time, but it has!

After we purchase and move the boat, we then fly back to the UK and celebrate Christmas and New Years. We then fly out to North Carolina on the 2nd of January to see my brother, his family, and the latest addition to our family – Emma Isabella Harkola, born November 2013.

Thereafter, hubby and I have a variety of courses to take (engine maintenance and repair, first aid, first aid advanced) in addition to selling anything else we own (the car, a sailboat sail, and odds and sods). Around the 24th of March we’ll then fly back to Gibraltar having to make our first port of call at Malta.

Plans change…

Originally, our plan was to sail from Palma, Mallorca to Barcelona, Spain. The Spanish government agreed that our tax bill for the boat would come to X euros a month ago and then changed their mind and explained they were after 2X now. That extra money due is the money we need to use to actually pay for our sailing adventure! We can pay the tax but then we’d have to look at the boat rather than sail it around.

Luckily our broker found a solution using a Maltese Leasing Scheme. When all is said and done, we’ll pay less than the original amount that the Spanish government was originally after. All I can think is that the ‘adventure has begun!’

Our very first voyage is going to be a 3 – 4 days non-stop sail

When I first discovered that we’d need to sail 3 – 4 days rather than 17 hours non-stop on our first voyage, I freaked out a bit. What if our skipper couldn’t extend his help for the extra days? What if we (meaning me and hubby) had to sail the boat by ourselves? What if we couldn’t find another skipper? For insurance purposes we needed a certified skipper! OMG, OMG, OMG.

I then told myself to chill out and stop thinking about it. Fortunately, I had other things to hold my attention. The move alone took up much of my mental capacity. And looking after my 3 ½-year-old daughter also distracted my focus. Furthermore, I decided that I must just go with the flow.

I must just go with the flow!

To my delight, our skipper came back to us within 2 days letting us know that he could get us to Gibraltar. ‘Phew’ were the words I screamed out. Hubbie punched the air and yelled, ‘Yeeeeesssss’. Trying to find another skipper at such short notice would be seriously difficult!

Now, my worries have turned to ‘provisioning’ the boat. It will be my job to get to Palma, find a grocery store, and buy enough food for 3-4 days. It probably sounds like a small task, and in light of other things, it is. I suppose I’m just scared because I don’t know what we’ll want, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to actually prepare food or it’s more of heat up beans type of thing? I suppose I’ll get lots of fruit, can stuff (soups, baked beans, tuna fish, etc) and some ready meals that we can throw into the oven. I hope our water maker works? Hmm, I’ll need to get some water too just in case.

So, there goes my gluten-free, non-processed food diet! Hehehe. In actuality, it’s been impossible to follow it later anyway. But I know we’ll get back to our healthy eating as soon our lives slow down a little bit! Most of our meals have been at restaurants or from takeaways but whenever possible, we are choosing the best of a bad bunch.

The only other thing I’m freaking out about is how I handle the first voyage

I get seasick quite easily so I’m frightened that I’ll spend the trip puking while hubby has to not only sail the boat but look after me and our daughter. What a disaster that would be.

“Kim – you’ve got to stop thinking this way! You get what you focus on so let’s focus on what we want to happen!”

Okay. As a routine, I always write about my trips/adventures before I take them. It’s a way for me to get my mind/body to focus on what I want to happen, so here goes…

Pre-trip preparation visualization for one of our most monumental trips to date

Our flights from Stanstead to Palma are fantastic. Sienna and I have a great time making crafts, coloring and enjoying the flight. Meeting our skipper, Richard, face-to-face for the first time is great. I know instantly that I’ll easily get on with him. Sim is like a kid who had all his Christmas’s come at once – he’s buzzing with excitement.

We go straight to the boat after our arrival in Palma. Everyone is excited and eager to unpack and get situated. Due to the limited time we have with our skipper, we’ll be eager to get going as soon as possible. Sienna and I will easily find a grocery store in Palma and get all the stuff we need for the trip.

After all the paperwork, checks, and hand-over essentials are taking care of, we need to sail for 12 miles off the coast, instigate the sale transaction and then sail on until we hit Gibraltar.

The actual journey from Palma to Gibraltar is amazing. Absolutely amazing. Sienna is a perfect angel helping out where she can and playing on her own when needed. We quickly get into a routine and we all enjoy each other’s company. The sail is comfortable and easy-going. We’re flying – over 9 knots yet it’s a smooth sail. Furthermore, the food I purchased is perfect – it’s healthy, tastes great, and is a joy to prepare. I actually feel GREAT the whole way.

We get to Gibraltar in record time and when I see the port I’m so excited to get moored up and check of the next milestone on the list of our ‘sell up and sail’ adventure. We did it! We purchased our dream boat and we successfully sailed it on her first journey. And she’s perfect…she’s in excellent condition and we know that we found the perfect boat to sail around the world. Wooooooo hooooooo. I’m so happy, proud, excited and in love with life.

Next Chapter: 23. My first trip on our new yacht – Dolphins included!

Previous Chapter: 21. Serious issue – we can’t take our yacht to Barcelona, Spain as planned – YIKES!

Or…if you’d like to carry on reading all about our journey from selling up and sailing away, you can purchase my book, ‘Changing Lifestyles – Trading the Rat Race in For A Sail Around The World,’ 

Changing LifestylesREADER REVIEW
Amazon Reader. 5 Star Review!
"This is the story of a woman who was on multiple journeys; looking for a change in her life's course, learning the ropes of a new boat, and navigating what it is to parent a child as she and her husband embark on this journey. Great as an adventure story, but also got me excited to read it as a travel guide!" Cherie

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Changing Lifestyles: Trading in the Rat Race for a Sail Around The World (my book). Chapters:

  • 1. That’s it – I’m selling everything and sailing around the world!

  • 2. Oh crap – Are we healthy enough to sail around the world?

  • 3. House sold, price on yacht almost negotiated – just need temporary housing now!

  • 4. Before I sell up and sail away I need to clean out my closet (in many ways)

  • 5. Getting the boat of our dreams – will we or won’t we?

  • 6. Negotiations 56 Oyster Yacht have finished but not without massive pain

  • 7. Everything was going well until we got this phone call…

  • 8. Quick, quick – we need to sell our current boat. We need a place to live. We need to…

  • 9. My new normal and dealing with giving up all our possessions

  • 10. Going from sailing Selene to selling Selene so we could afford to buy our 56′

  • 11. Sea trials and the survey – the night before we meet our dream yacht

  • 12. Hours before we meet our new yacht…our new home!

  • 13. Sea trials on the Oyster 56 were a success – we love her!

  • 14. Getting a yacht lifted out for a Marine Survey

  • Extra: Sell Up and Sail Away Video – Sea Trails & Survey

  • 15. After sea trials and the survey I ran a marathon (accidentally)

  • 16. What does homeschooling, the paleo diet, writing, and photography have to do with sailing?

  • 17. I’m so freaking frustrated – the world is broken

  • 18. Saying goodbye to my old routines and old lifestyle

  • 19. Life has slowed way down – is it the calm before the storm?

  • 20. A lesson on stopping the ‘what-if’s’ from taking over my life!

  • 21. Serious issue – we can’t take our yacht to Barcelona, Spain as planned – YIKES!

  • Extra: Sell Up and Sail Away Video 2 – Our thoughts, feelings and move day!

  • 22. The day before we purchase our 56′ Oyster

  • 23. My first trip on our new yacht – Dolphins included!

  • 24. Feeling excited, sick, and in awe are not mutually exclusive when sailing on the seas

  • 25.Things got worse

  • Extra: Sell Up and Sail Away Video 3 – Palma Mallorca to Gibraltar

  • 26. Sell up and sail away preparations – we successfully took possession of your new yacht

  • 27. Preparation for our around the world sailing trip couldn’t get more exciting!

  • 28. Two months to go before we set sail for our world adventure

  • 29. We got a gun, but not the kind you’re probably thinking of

  • 30. The contrast of sailing around the world and cancer

  • Extra: The reason I decided to sell up and sail away (video)

  • 31. Courses, becoming British, putting our remaining possessions on a pallet and what else?

  • Extra. No – we did not win the lottery!

  • 32. Less than 3 weeks to go before we sail off into the sunset

  • 33. Ten days to go before we set sail on our grand adventure

  • 34. Will this sailing adventure turn me into a dreadlocked, pot smoking, whale saver?

  • 35. In 2 days we will set sail around the world sailing adventure

  • 36. Leaving Gosport England today to start on our around the world sailing adventure

  • 37. Life aboard our new yacht with the BBC, Daily Mail and Times in tow

  • 38. Feeling amazing, scared, overwhelmed and useless

  • 39. Sailing Gibraltar To Malta

  • 40. I’m honoured to introduce Loryn Bennett – Britican’s Chef

  • 41. I still can’t even believe this is happening

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