For as long as we can remember, we (Robert and I) have always planned on moving aboard a yacht, and Sailing South. We both had our own endowments which were ending in 2017, so this was the year that we loosely planned on starting our journey. But, in the early 2000’s, this seemed like a very long time in the future!
About us:
We are a family of four with Dad (Robert), Mum (Karen), sons Matthew and Jack. We (Rob and Karen) met during 1999, when Matthew was four years old. We married in June, 2004, and Jack joined the clan in February 2008, when Matt was 13.
Rob has been sailing since he was knee high to a grasshopper and when we met, Rob and his Dad, Cyril, owned a small 19’ yacht called Lucy-K. I remember my first weekend aboard her very well. It was forecasted to be a lovely, sunny weekend and I was just told to pack t-shirts and shorts. We had just left the yard – and the heavens opened!! I then quickly put on, and wore, Cyril’s waterproofs for the rest of the weekend! Hahaha! Lucy-K was just big enough for the three of us and we had many lovely adventures in the Solent for the next eight or nine years. Rob gradually took over the care and maintenance of Lucy-K and, when Jack was born, it became obvious that she was not big enough for the four of us. In 2009, Rob sold Lucy-K and, a few months later, we bought a 26’ Westerly Centaur, named Katy. She was lovely! The four of us continued to sail until Matt was around 15 or 16, when he then slowly eased off joining us.
Slowly, but surely, the years slid by and 2017 began to approach. We both agreed that we would start our journey by sailing and exploring the Mediterranean Sea. Our endowment’s paid out in early 2017, the mortgage was paid off and it was now our time. Rob started looking at what type of yacht would suit our needs; that he could sail solo and one that was comfortable to live on full time. Word soon got out in our yard that we were looking for a new yacht, and Rob was asked if he would be interested in a Southerly 105. He was very interested after he was shown around and so made a date for me to have a look too. We both decided that she felt like ‘home’ as soon as we stepped aboard! Hoopla was soon bought and Katy was soon sold. We spent the next two years getting to know Hoopla, sailing further afield to France, Alderney and Guernsey. During this time, in October 2018, Matt and his girlfriend, Lizz, started on the property ladder with their own place, a gorgeous maisonette.
We planned on leaving in July 2019, when Jack finished his last year in junior school – but when we found out that we should be approaching the Bay of Biscay by then, we decided to bring it forward to May! And so started the endless tasks and the massive workload of readying our house for tenants. The necessary removal of 27 years of collected clutter was, at times, quite a challenge! We donated, recycled and disposed of as much as possible. We could only use the loft and the double garage for storage for all our important documents and items that we could not part with. Downsizing from a 3 bedroom, semi-detached house, with a large double garage, to a 36 foot boat, took a lot of doing! All three of us decided that it would be a natural break if Jack finished school at the end of the half term in May, which is what he did. Jack then went through all his belongings in his room and put to one side all of the items that he really wanted to take with us, the items that he wanted to keep in the loft and the items that could be disposed of. We had the plasterers in to re-plaster three double rooms and then these had to be painted. We then had a new carpet fitted throughout, with new floor covering also in the kitchen and bathroom. We (Well, I!) decided to have a party in May, so we could say goodbye to people in person, before we left. This was such a lovely evening! It was so wonderful so see all our friends and family under one roof. By that time, though, it was apparent that we would not be ready to leave in May – or June for that matter! We were as ready as we would ever be to leave 34 Shelson on the 3rd July!
We spent the following week on-board, preparing Hoopla for us 3 permanent live-a-boards and for some long distance sailing. Lastly, we sold our cars, finished up some last minute preperations, and then we were finally ready!
We slipped our lines at 5pm in Gosport, on the South Coast of England, on 9th July 2019.
