So, after arguably 52 years preparation, but more realistically the last 5 years, we are finally out in the USA and pick up our new boat tomorrow. It has been a hard slog since January when both of us finished full-time work to cut our ties to land life, but the house is now ready for renting, many of our possessions have been sold, given away to charity to just disposed of and we are left with 4 big and 4 little bags which contain our worldly possessions! Aside of course from a 42-foot catamaran that is sitting in the Sassafras River near Georgetown, Maryland! We’ve said our farewells to friends and family, the neighbour’s cat who thinks she lives (lived) with us, had a party or two and made as much of our life as online as possible.

Tomorrow, we jump on board and confirm that all the boat systems are still working since the survey was completed 2 weeks ago. Assuming they are then we sign our final acceptance document and become the new owners. Then the adventure can truly begin!

So how does it feel? We’d be lying if there wasn’t some trepidation about this new and unfamiliar life we are about to embark on. There is so much new that we have to adjust to: living onboard what is effectively a small apartment in close confines, understanding the boat and all its systems, living in a new country – oh, and of course the simple and obvious fact of having to sail everywhere! Our dinghy will be our ‘car’, there’s no postie, getting groceries is no longer a quick 5-minute trip to Morrisons (other supermarkets are available) and our lives will be dominated by the weather. Even as we type, Hurricane Erin, the first ‘official’ hurricane of 2025, is barrelling towards the Caribbean, potentially hitting areas where we hope to be in a few months’ time. There have been plenty of other ‘minor’ tropical storms leading up to this, and the hurricane tracking website is our new best friend! Where we are in the Chesapeake Bay is relatively sheltered and rarely experiences hurricanes, but rarely doesn’t mean never!

But no adventure comes without leaving your comfort zone and we are excited to start ours. As Mark Twain allegedly wrote: 

‘Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the tradewinds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.’