Three days ago, on Friday, we found a perfect 2-bed flat for my father-in-law Keith. He currently lives in an annex attached to our house. When we told him that we’re selling up and sailing away, he was a bit freaked out, to say the least.
Keith thought he was set for life – no more moves.
When breaking the news to him we offered him a full-time space on the boat, if he wanted it. Furthermore, we told him that we’d handle all the details regarding the move. Overtime, he became more and more excited. And when we asked him where he wanted to move to, he replied, ‘Anywhere on the South coast.’
The flat/apartment we looked at is on the South coast of England. It’s on the Portsmouth Harbor, right across from Spinnaker Tower on the Gosport side. It’s in a marina/old shipping area. The flat is luxurious – excellent finish and in perfect condition for dad to move right into. Plus – there are two bathrooms…we can stay with him for a while before we go! One major issue is now sorted – dad is now taken care of. And it looks as if we can stay with him for a while before we leave England.
Dad’s taken care of. What about negotiations on the boat?
Regarding the negotiations for the boat. A counteroffer was made from the owner and then we countered again with a wee bit more off the price. It looks like getting the boat we want is totally within our reach – we’re very close now.
So, what’s the plan?
As far as timings go, our plans have been to leave England by the end of April 2014. And it’s October 2013 now. As it stands, our plans are to get rid of or store as many of our possessions now – putting them in our friend’s attics/lofts. Just yesterday a friend told us we could use a storage container he has located on his property – we could actually store our sofa, beds, kitchenware, etc. Now that’s a result! We were going to give everything to a good home but I’d rather keep things for our return (if we return)!
So here’s the current chronology of events to take place if everything goes to plan:
- go to Palma, Mallorca to see the boat
- instruct a survey
- have the boat moved to Barcelona (and purchase it as she’s moving – some sort of tax reason)
- pull her out of the water so she can dry out before we set off – boats need to dry out for a month or so every year to prevent osmosis
- Complete on the sail of our house mid-December
- Move my father-in-law, Keith, into his 2-bed flat and us too
- Fly over to North Carolina to see my family for the holidays
In the New Year:
- cram all our courses in – two first aid for boaters courses, engine repair, and maintenance, radio course
- get my British citizenship to make sailing around the EU easier
- find a pre-school to put our daughter in while we do the courses – I hope this is even possible!
Thankfully, Keith is away for a month on a cruise so in February we’ll have the flat to ourselves.
That’s when we’ll sell our current boat and car (hopefully). By then we’ll have a solid plan as to where we’re going to go and what we’re going to see/do. Thus far we want to spend the first several months in the Med and then for Christmas 2014 we’ll get to the Caribbean. Other than that we haven’t thought much about our travels.
But how do I feel?
Emotionally/mentally I think I’m okay. I don’t feel nervous which seems strange. Part of me just wants to get all the fiddley stuff out of the way. I have to do my taxes now and just the thought of that makes me feel ill. I don’t like paperwork!
So, really, the only annoyance I feel is for the stuff we have to do to prepare to go. It seems a bit overwhelming, but I’m sure we’ll get it all done. I’m not having second thoughts which I also think is a bit strange. I really feel as if what we’re doing is ‘normal.’ It’s all flowing so perfectly.
There’s a small niggle that thinks ‘will we ever pull this all off,’ but I suppose that’s common.
There’s just so much to do. Today we’re starting on the attic and clearing that out. This week we put Sienna in pre-school for the full week so that we could clear out the house as much as possible. And today I’m going to start to read my ‘Life in the UK’ handbook so I can pass my citizenship test. I really should have done this years ago! Oh well…
It’s all so exciting! Yikes!
Next Chapter: 4. Before I sell up and sail away I need to clean out my closet (in many ways)
Previous Chapter: 2. Oh crap – Are we healthy enough to sail around the world?
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,’
 | READER REVIEW Kindle Reader. 5 Star Review! "My husband and I are 12 months out from living the cruiser dream. We are ecstatic, but also making every effort to stay realistic! It's not all fun & games...staying grounded is a huge factor in our success with this transition. This book helped to keep it all in perspective, depicted the highs AND the lows! We've learned of destinations we've now on our "just see" list and add important notes to our "just do or you'll regret it" list! I'm now going to search for any other books she's written since! What a great read!! I am excited & inspired!" |
