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

Sea Trials and the SurveyWell, tomorrow marks the day that we’ll finally come face to face with the boat we’ve been inspecting pixel by pixel over various computer images. I soooooo hope it lives up to our expectations (actually – I know it will). We’re almost doing the sea trials and the survey – OMG!

For over 10 years we’ve wanted an Oyster Yacht and for over 60 days we’ve wanted a specific Oyster Yacht. The time has now come to meet our dream in person.

At lunchtime tomorrow, we fly from Stanstead Airport to Palma, Mallorca where we will be greeted by an Oyster Broker representative. We’ve been told that we can either go right to the boat or settle in at the hotel. Hubby’s response when I asked his thoughts was, ‘We should go right to the boat – shouldn’t we?’ He’s so cute.

Yesterday hubby admitted that he’s nervous and excited.

I’ve never seen him like this before. We’ve done all sorts of things and gone all over the world, but he never really gets excited and nerves are not in his character. It’s actually nice to see him come alive – even though his aliveness is a tad bit uncomfortable for him.

Speaking of comfort, hubby hasn’t slept well in months. Night after night he wakes around 2 am and with a racing mind, he can’t get back to sleep. We’re both not sleeping well. Aside from the thousands of tiny things we have to see before we leave, there’s the largeness of it all that seems to want to swallow us up. (I know it won’t!)

I do feel, however, that we’re on the homeward slide

The big stuff is all out of the way and now it’s a matter of logistics and managing things until we can finally fly out and set sail.

Today we met with the British Citizenship office to go through my citizenship paperwork. Hopefully, that will come back quickly and I can get my British Passport. We also unloaded a garage full of tools that my father-in-law allowed to collect dust for years. The dining room set is gone and some more friends put their names on a few more things.

This weekend, we’ll check out the storage area a friend is cleaning out for us. Hopefully, we can put our kitchen stuff, some chairs, and some furniture in there for safekeeping.

So how do I feel about tomorrow?

Interestingly, I don’t feel much of anything right now. We’ve been so busy that my nerves haven’t had a chance to rear their ugly head. I do hope that we love the boat. I have a knowing that we will – if that’s the right terminology to use?!

Part of me feels like we’re two common people going out to buy a very uncommon thing and I’m not sure how I’ll act. Hopefully, I’ll just be myself but I feel a bit out of my comfort zone. Going from a tiny 35′ yacht to a 56′ yacht is quite a leap. I think to myself, ‘look at little ole us going and buying this big boat!’

It’s not that I feel like we don’t deserve it or it’s too much for us common folk.

I suppose I just feel like anyone else would who is seriously going outside their own norm.

Usually, before a trip I future proof it. In other words, I think about the outcome I want to have. For example, for my last trip home to Rochester, New York, I wanted to have the outcome of ‘having the best trip ever…to have quality time with my family and friends…enjoy the food and enable Sienna to get to know her family more and more.’ I often imagine how I’ll feel when I return and what I’ll say to my friends about the trip.

Doing this future proof allows me to tell my mind/body what I want and it’s never let me down. I don’t dictate how things go, I simply outline how I want to feel when it’s over.

To future proof the next three days, I’ll now envision coming home and telling friends and family that the boat is more than we expected. It looks great, smells great, and feels like it should be in our command. Not only was the sea trial and survey a success but hubby and I had an absolute blast. We had no worries about leaving Sienna with my father-in-law – she was an ‘angel’. The flights were great, the weather was sunny and warm and both hubby and I managed to chill out for a few days and really enjoy our time together. We also hit another milestone towards our sell up and sail away plans – we officially agreed to buy the boat.

Oh-my-Gosh! Could life get any more exciting!

Keep reading…the next article was written on the airplane to Palma, Mallorca. Find out if my ‘future-proofing,’ worked here.

Next Chapter: 12. Hours before we meet our new yacht…our new home!

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

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
"I finished your book this week and absolutely loved it! It was great to read about your early days in many places we also sailed. I loved the way you combined your blogs/real life scenarios with advise on boat maintenance, letting go of your previous life and about your honestly throughout. I enjoy your style of writing Kim, and I loved the little Sienna quotes." Jayne Eames-Thornton, s/v Delphinus

 

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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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