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

Life aboard our new yachtBefore leaving England I was interviewed by BBC Radio Solent and BBC South Today TV. Furthermore, our story was published in a variety of small newspapers and some serious sailing magazines. The night before we flew I received a call and was told that our story about sailing around the world with a 3-year-old was going to hit The Daily Mail and The Times. What about life aboard our new yacht?!? It’s more about life with the media after you!

WOW – can’t get bigger than that, now can you?

I suppose I was nervous about the trip, to begin with but the added media coverage has been definitely keeping my mind off of our future adventure! Instead of speculating what might happen in a week’s time, I’m freaking out about how a particular interview might go. At least nothing has been live! The radio and TV interviews were all recorded first. (Note: More on the media further down)

Life aboard our new yacht

Anyway, let me get to Gibraltar!

My husband, daughter, cousin, and I arrived in Gibraltar around 11 am. When disembarking from the plane I was once again in awe of the huge rock of Gibraltar. The airport faces the monumental rock – the planes land in between the airport and the huge rock. While walking into the airport I noticed that my cousin, Loryn, was looking down.

I yelled over to her, ‘Loryn – have you looked left?’ She turned to the left and said, ‘Oh my God! That’s amazing.’ She stood along the side of the runway for a few seconds taking it all in. I cracked up laughing because she didn’t notice the famous Rock of Gibraltar. Seriously – how can you miss it?!

Life about our new yacht

We entered the baggage area and signs said to go to ‘Baggage Claim 1.’ Both my cousin and I looked around for a row of belts and noted that there only seemed to be one. We laughed and thought, ‘we’re not in NY or London anymore!’

We all piled into a taxi, got ¼ mile from the airport, and then we were held up at some very long traffic lights. Eventually we saw a plane fly across the road and realized why we were held up!

The road closes to allow planes to land and take-off! How funny is that?!

After a few minutes we were finally reunited with the marina that Britican is moored in. I felt very shaky as we approached the boat. I was tired, anxious, and freaking out as usual. When I saw ‘Britican’ on the boom (we renamed her so that was the first time I saw our name on the boat), I felt even more scared. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh – what are we doing?!’ I pointed the boat out to Loryn and she said, ‘Wow – that’s big!’

We got on board and I quickly noticed loads of dirt and dust that accumulated on her while we were gone. Before we left in December, Simon and I cleaned the boat inside and out. Not one inch of the boat was left uncleaned and polished. Simon opened the door and we dropped down into the main living area. She smelled good so I was pleased about that.

Sienna ran around saying, ‘let me show you my room Loryn!’ Sienna gave the grand tour as Sim and I walked around making sure everything was okay. Sienna started to yell out, ‘I love sailing. I love boats. I love my family. I love my life. I love you mummy!’ Hearing all her love pour out made me feel more comfortable about our decision.

And at one point, Sim said, ‘give me a kiss!’ We kissed and he yelled out, ‘we’ve finally made it here!’

First things first – getting on and off the boat

The leap from the yacht to the mooring pontoon was quite a large one. Furthermore, anyone trying to get on had to step in our dingy first (handing on davits off the back of the boat) which was very unstable. So, we decided to put the passerelle out. I’m sure it should be a 5-minute job but it took 2 hours and provided great entertainment for the onlookers drinking at the local restaurants.

Back to the passerelle, or gangplank, as I call it. We had to loosen the ropes (warps) on the back of the boat and winch the front of the boat forward. We also had to put the dingy in the water. We saw a plug that needed to be inserted, to prevent the dingy from filling from water, but we missed another plug that also needed to be plugged.

So..while the dingy was sinking, we looked like a bunch of morons trying to get the gangplank to land on the pontoon. When we first attached and dropped it, the silly thing reached over to the adjacent boat making a bridge. That would have been fine if we wanted to visit our neighbors but the other boaters might have been annoyed at having to climb across the passerelle to get to their boats.

Needless to say, we finally got the passerelle sorted and we all joyfully walked, rather than leap, off the back of the boat. While passing by another boat we noticed that they used a ladder and just tied it onto the boat and hooked a fender under the area that hit the jetty. That looked far easier than our passerelle!

Life aboard our new yacht

After all, was said and done, my reaction was, ‘who wants to get a glass of wine now?’ I felt as if we did a day’s work and needed some kind of reward. Hehehe.

Thereafter we got some groceries, put all our clothes away, and settled around the table for dinner. We had a fantastic salad and all did cheers to a happy and safe adventure.

BBC Radio 5 Live just rang me!

That was scary. Holy smokes. I’m still shaking. I stayed outside sitting along the quayside so that Sienna wouldn’t yell out my name or try and get my attention. I was a bit cold and I was shaking with nerves.

What happened is this. My phone rang and a guy named Ross said he was calling from BBC Radio 5. He said he’s patch me into the live show so I could hear it as it’s being broadcast. Once he patched me in I could hear the radio over my phone and then I hear Ross say, ‘can you hear the live broadcast?’ I said ‘yes’ and then left the line. After a couple of minutes I heard one of the broadcasters introduce us and our story.

As soon as I heard the broadcaster mention our story I started to freak out

I was shaking uncontrollably and kept saying to myself, ‘stay calm, stay calm.’ The questions they asked were fairly straightforward and I felt that I responded to them in the best way that I could. They asked about homeschooling and they mentioned safety. One of the broadcasters asked me to tell them something I haven’t yet mentioned so I explained my mom’s fear of us being attacked by a giant killer squid. Everyone seemed to find that funny.

And when they asked how we’re going to keep Sienna safe I responded that we just keep her tied down. Now of course I don’t mean that seriously, but I’m a parent just like any other parent and my daughter’s safety is paramount.

Just after the interview finished I had emails from BBC Radio 3 and The Sunday Times in my inbox. I couldn’t help but wonder why my life had changed so much and in such an interesting fashion. I was so pumped up to sail around the world. I had no clue that the media would want to talk to little ole me!

Furthermore, some of the press that I’ve received hasn’t been very nice

The article in the Daily Mail definitely didn’t paint me in a good light. They indicated that I was being irresponsible and putting my daughter at risk. Sadly, I think that even if you were perfect the Daily Mail would find a way to paint a negative slant on a positive story. But some people like to read that kind of stuff and that’s what’s so cool about the world we live in – we all have the ability to choose what we want to fill our minds with and what we don’t.

Next Chapter: 38. Feeling amazing, scared, overwhelmed and useless

Previous Chapter: 36. Leaving Gosport England today to start on our around the world sailing adventure

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
On Amazon. 5 Star Review!
"Interested in The Sailing Lifestyle? Are your needing just one more reason to change your life for the better, Just buy this book. I actually bought this for my wife(Workaholic) last year. It was the deciding factor for us to change things 😉 , After she read Kim's Book & we watched a few episodes of Sailing Britican (& a few others) we realized there is more to life than the rat race.....!
Thanks." Jon D.
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Comments

  1. Olga says

    March 28, 2014 at 3:02 am

    Happy sailing Kim! Don’t ever worry about negativity from a paper. They missed an opportunity to ask you proper questions about what it is really like to live your dream and learn all the interesting stuff you have already gone through getting your boat.

    Reading your articles makes me feel a bit like I am embarking on the journey with you which is very exciting.

    Enjoy!

    Olga
    Xx

    Reply
    • Kim Brown says

      March 30, 2014 at 7:06 pm

      Thank you Olga. I do hope you travel this journey with me… it wouldn’t be the same if you weren’t around. Hope all your plans are coming together and big love to Sam! x

      Reply
  2. Behan - s/v Totem says

    March 28, 2014 at 8:56 am

    Don’t let the Daily Mail get you down. We heard much of the same before taking off to go cruising. How dare we put our children at risk? How dare we put their education at risk? How DARE we!? Six years later, we’re all doing just fine, thankyouverymuch. Just smile, and know that you’re doing a great thing for your family! You know what? I really believe that most of the negative reactions to families who take the leap comes from those who simply don’t have the fortitude to do it themselves… they need to justify their inability to take action, and it’s easier to throw stones. Who needs em. 🙂

    Reply
    • Kim Brown says

      March 30, 2014 at 7:05 pm

      Thank you so much for your comments Behan! I sooooooo look up to you guys. Thankfully there’s someone’s footsteps I can follow 🙂 You guys rock! Smiles

      Reply
  3. David Lester says

    March 28, 2014 at 8:36 pm

    Kim, the comment above from Behan is spot on! The people who want you to change won’t even contemplate changes themselves. Forget ’em! They are not worthy of even a second thought or moment of your time.

    Have your family live the best life possible and the only person you’ll ever have to answer to (yourself) will be happy with the result.

    Safepassages, smooth seas and enough wind to make it adventourous!

    God speed you guys. There are a million sailors out there who think you’re right!

    Reply
    • Kim Brown says

      March 30, 2014 at 7:04 pm

      Hey David! Yes – Behan is spot on! I don’t pay any attention to the Daily Mail or any negative press. The Mail can turn the most exciting story into something of doom and gloom. On the positive side, The Bucks Herald, the Times and the BBC have all highlighted the positive side of things 🙂 Thanks for your comments David. Smiles

      Reply

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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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