Dream Come True – we bought a yacht!!

Sailing Adventure, Travel 2 Minutes

The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects the wind to change, the realist adjusts the sails.

William Arthur Ward

We have done it!! 25+ years of dreaming, planning and organising and we are the proud owners of a beautiful 44ft yacht ♥ For those of you who know a little about yachts she is a 44ft ketch rig designed by Ganley of NZ and built in Wales of steel. For those of you not too familiar with yachts, she is white and blue, has 2 cabins (bedrooms), 2 heads (bathrooms), a fabulous galley (kitchen), fitted out with teak, 2 masts (sticky up things for sails to go on), and is very sturdy 😉

In early February we flew from Singapore to Istanbul then onto Antalya, followed by a very quick taxi trip down the coast to Finike, Southern Turkey. A total of 21 hours traveling but we had been awake for over 35hours, totally shattered. We checked in to our hotel, threw our bags into the room and raced off to meet the yacht broker who we had been emailing and talking to for a few months prior to arriving. Talk about running on empty! The broker was wonderful, he had arranged for us to view the yacht that very afternoon with the current owners in attendance. It was kind of surreal walking along the pier looking at the very yacht we had only ever seen on the website. She was beautiful. My chap squeezed my hand as we first took sight of her, he was smitten. We had a brief look over her and arranged to come back the following day for a more in depth look and discuss hauling her out for a surveyors report. We were on a tight timeline with the owner leaving in 5 days! It was all go. Full inspection from top to bottom by the chap with the owner filling him on whatever information he requested, haul out booked, surveyor arranged, maintenance regime discussed, owners records and details looked over – my head was spinning! Hauling her out was nerve-wracking, we motored over to the yard and placed her in the space ready to be lifted out by a massive crane with two big strops. When you are talking about lifting out something that weighs in the vicinity of 22 tonne the stomach is a little knotted! The surveyor was dead pan the whole time, we were all watching him for some kind of indication – good, bad, anything…not a glimmer of emotion. This went on for a good 45 minutes. We watched his every move, everything hung on what he had to say. Finally after tapping and measuring every inch of the hull he stood back with an almost wistful look and said two words…’She’s lovely’. I think there was a collective sigh of relief – it meant one thing to us; we were buying a yacht!!

  • Marina Lift
  • Hauling Out
  • And she is up!
  • On the hard

It’s amazing how fast the cogs can turn if really pushed. We had everything signed and sealed 5 days from arriving in the country. For the chap it was a dream come true…for me it was a huge relief more than anything. Relieved that everything we had talked about and worked towards particularly in the previous 12 months had finally come to fruition. And now the journey can really begin.

View from Bowsprit

Follow our adventures as we become ‘live aboards’, adjust to our new lifestyle and start our trip through the Mediterranean.

We are here ♥
Moored in Finike, Southern Turkey
16,927kms from Wanganui New Zealand (Home) to Finike Turkey
A long way from home

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Published by The Tea Chest Blog

The Tea Chest Blog is a space for me to share my love for all things TEA. I have always loved the ceremonial aspect of making a pot of tea, sitting in a quiet space and savouring every sip as I relax and breathe. The history, traditions and beauty of tea make it such a wonderfully calming and sharing experience that I wish for everyone.

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54 thoughts on “Dream Come True – we bought a yacht!!”

    1. Thanks so much for your wishes, we are certainly living the dream. Hope you follow our adventures along the way ⛵🌍

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    2. Ah! A kindred spirit. Tea drinker and a sailboat enthusiast, liveaboard!👍👍 come by the pacific northwest, we have one of the world’s best cruising grounds.

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      1. Hello there, fantastic to have you pop in. Hoping to spend the next few months cruising through the Mediterranean then see where the wind takes us. Where are you?

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  8. So exciting! I’m not a sea-goer…but can imagine how you feel. What a wonderful adventure!. I live in Spain near the Med. and love being near to, and watching/listening to the seal Take care but have fun! Best wishes x PS What a gorgeous yacht!!

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  10. Oh my goodness, she is beautiful! Congratulations and bon voyage! I am loving traveling with you via your blog. The adventures you are going to experience. I look forward to seeing all kinds of photos of your new home.

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  16. I cannot believe this!!!! What a dream! This is amazing! I bet you both are smitten. I can’t wait to hear more about these adventures. And possibly some inside pics?

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    1. Yes that is very true, we are very blessed. Just working on some more posts about our journey. Thanks for following.

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