Drifting Along the Best Sunset Ever.
About the Voyage
Our Retirement Dream
We were married in 1983, right out of college. After our first few years in Texas, we had an opportunity to 'take a break' and seriously considered living on a sailboat for a year. However, practicality took over, and we moved to Florida where Paul started a business, Laura worked for IBM and put that dream aside for awhile. We had two children and life was busy! We did take time for sailing, renting boats when we could take the time, and always had our Hobie Cat for weekend sailing.
Here we are, 39 years later, both retired and ready to embrace our dream again. Although Paul has a lifetime of sailing experience, that wasn't the case for Laura, and we took a course on a sailboat to get certified. We have a route mapped out, although I'm sure it will change, and plan to start in January, 2023. We are picking up our boat as soon as it's ready for sail in St. Martin, and making our way through the Caribbean and the ABC Islands (Aruba, Bon Aire, Curacao).
Our Sailboat - Beneteau Oceanis 46
After much research and a few sales that did not go through, we have settled on a 2007 Beneteau Oceanis Clipper 46.1. This boat is currently in St. Martin and is getting maintenance to be in great condition. We've had a slight setback due to a storm that blew through and caused some damage, but are still anticipating starting by mid-January.
Beneteau is one of the oldest boat building yards in the world to be run by the family as a majority. In the French port city of Croix-de-Vie, Benjamin Beneteau founded the Beneteau boatyard and thus began a journey that has made Beneteau one of the most popular sailboat manufacturers. Our Oceanis 46 is outfitted with teak decks, two sails and a spinnaker, with two helms and comfortable seating in the cockpit. We have 3 bedrooms, two baths, and an 'L' shaped galley.
NOTES:
LOA: 47.3"
Hull Length: 44.11"
Beam: 13.11"
Draft(deep keel): 6.92’
Fuel Capacity: 53 Gallons
Water: 140 Gallon