Its easy to look at photos of people smiling with a backdrop of calm, blue seas and think this is the perfect, easy life but then who takes a photo when they’re feeling miserable in windy conditions out in rough seas? A photo is usually taken of a beautiful scene or a moment in time that you want to remember but its not always smiles and good times behind the camera, I mean there’s a whole rollercoaster of emotions that comes along with this lifestyle!
A plethora of challenges face us often. From rough seas and weather conditions, to rolly anchorages where you’re on alert all night, to a child that won’t cooperate with his school work, to running out of bread or eggs, to missing friends and family, to kids who miss their afterschool activities, to long passages where everyone is bored, to spending hours fixing an electrical or mechanical problem and did I mention night watch and sleepless nights?
Its not all that bad but I just wanted to say that in between the beautiful, breath-taking moments we do go through some tough challenges that make us think ‘what are we doing?’ and ‘why?’ but then we enjoy a mesmerizing sunset or visit a small and wonderful town and tell ourselves ‘ that’s why!’
We have had to make many sacrifices to be able to shift to this new lifestyle, we have had to let go and sell many of our possessions including our cars, bikes and belongings, we’ve had to say goodbye to family and people that we’ve known all our lives, the kids left their school and school friends behind and we left a city that has been our home all our lives. We left all of that for something new and unknown.
In return for everything we have had to let go of, we get to have a sea view every single day, we get to enjoy different scenery, we experience changes in weather and seasons, we get to visit and anchor at the most beautiful bays, to explore new towns and villages. We meet locals, other sailing families and get to share our experiences together. We witness mesmerizing sunrises and magnificent sunsets, we watch dolphins jump in front of us and turtles swim beneath us and most of all we get to enjoy simple, uncomplicated days (when nothing goes wrong on the boat) together as a family.
Technology has been a blessing, staying in touch with people is easy and accessible, we can be in touch with people we know at any time and video calls are the best invention! Our eldest son, left to university recently so its been great to be able to stay in touch with him via video calls and see where he lives and studies; he also gets to know all our news and follow our trip online. All in all we are going through some exciting experiences albeit some difficult moments but our knowledge is expanding, our outlook is positively changing and the memories we are building are unforgettable.
Turkbuku
Bozcada Wall Art 
Painting Seascapes 
Sigacik
Lindos 
Sigacik 
Sigacik