During 2017 we formulated our escape plan – to downsize the house, retire and buy a sailing boat in the Mediterranean.

We purchased the next house, (not really a down-size), a home more suited to the low maintenance lock up and leave lifestyle we were after.

After our Son’s wedding later in 2017 we planned to scoot off to Greece in 2018 and find a boat for the 2018 season. Of course, you don’t know what you don’t know and we did many things in the wrong order.

The lovely yacht we bought was a Bavaria 42 Cruiser, a comfortable 3 cabin monohull. We added dinghy davits to hold new solar panels, a new dinghy and outboard motor, all new standing rigging and did many other tweaks to make MACSEA a comfortable safe cruising yacht for the Med.

After the sale of our family home we started to look for a catamaran – more room and a smoother ride at sea and at anchor. Near the end of the 2019 season we were able to purchase RUKUS, a NZ flagged Fountaine Pajot Orana 44 catamaran. What to do with 2 boats in the Med? Sell one to your best friends of course so Warren and Helen Duncan became the new owners of MACSEA and we had 6 weeks (with the help of my sister Deb and husband Kurt) to deliver RUKUS from the west side of Greece back to the boatyard near the east end of the Corinth Canal. Back in the yard she was put away for the winter.

This was just before the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic which extended our winter ‘storage’ for the next two years. Finally in 2022 we were able to return and had a wonderful season on RUKUS learning her quirks and enjoying the advantages of having space – what a luxury!

Now in 2023 we have made more improvements with replacement rigging, new lithium batteries, new solar array and stainless-steel custom-made arch, a new trampoline net, new wardrobe of sails and sail bag and many more small improvements. Roll on summer 2023 …

Next ….  Ready Set Go …. – Sailing Rukus