It is almost exactly two years since Simon and I first contemplated the crazy liberating idea of dropping everything and sailing off into the sun with the kids.
I feel very grateful we were able to pull this together so quickly. It now seems we have been talking about this forever and setting everything in motion to make it happen has been no small feat. It is now truly happening!
2019 was a very dark year for many people close to us. Monthly themes of accidents, illness and suicides in our circles strengthened our convictions that the time to live fully is always now. As for the year 2020, globally very unsettling, has been gently rushing our plans forward, one nudge at a time. A particularly stunning autumn season in lockdown followed by Simon’s job loss were big blessings in disguise. The universe conspiring to set us free.
Simon had been actively searching yacht listings for as long as we pictured ourselves living on the sea. As we entered lockdown in the last days of March, the dream boat appeared, nonchalantly, among the plethora of international yacht sales. She was way too expensive of course. However we knew to set our sights high to build up creative momentum.
She was tacked up on the fridge, and another photo by our bed. As we welcomed the lockdown to repaint the house inside and out, clear the garden, fix things, sort through our belongings, we talked at length about every detail we loved about her. By the outdoor fire at night, burning mountains of green waste and twenty years worth of paperwork, we would evoke in great details what it would feel like to sail her, the summer breeze in our faces and the warm wooden deck under the sole of our feet, or waking up at anchor in a beautiful bay and take a morning dive into the sea as the sun comes up over the horizon. The sounds of nature. The simple delight of being alive and at one with the elements.
Seven months on, our lovely home has been sold, our beloved cat Nungi in the care of wonderful friends, all work responsibilities handed over, bottomless jobs lists completed, cargo packed, schools quit, and our departure gradually set forth by endless farewells and last catch ups with whanaunga (loved ones). Now without a home, we have relocated to beautiful Whangaruru in Northland where another big farewell is coming about. The family bach (beach house) for the past twenty years has also just sold and will be changing hands just before Christmas.
This place is immensely special to each one of us. There are few places in the space of one life where you get to cultivate such intimate relationship with the land. To Simon and I, this is where we fled every weekend after we had just met (1999) and as often as we could for two decades to follow. So many fond memories, both the most peaceful and the most chaotic of family times. It is the place where we retreated after the birth of all four children and also the place where they have grown close to their cousins.
Here we are, going full circle before birthing our next chapter. I am already in disbelief and awe as I start imagining what crazy things are going to happen in the next two decades. In the meantime, we are blessed with a delicious transitional month here in Northland in late spring, to ground, unlearn ‘normal’, clear our busy minds in the ocean and reset our rhythm to that of the tides. Mornings of home study for the kids, reading books balanced with bush walks, ball games on the beach, gathering kai moana and evenings by the outdoor fire. In the background, a lot of administrative stuff is being organised.
On the November new moon, we tentatively made an offer… it feels completely surreal. The boat is based in Spain. While there are a number of hoops to jump through before an agreement can be signed, our offer is being considered. Whaaaaaat!!? It isn’t the first time we witness that dreaming big is rewarding.
We are preparing to fly off to Barcelona on the 5th of December to check her out. The kids are bubbling with excitement. I can hardly believe this is it… riding the wave of our dream unfolding. Wild.
