And then suddenly that was that

The two happiest days of owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. If only that were true.

Proud and pretty

It’s with a heavy heart that we announce that our beloved LodeStar is embarking on a new adventure. We put her on the market on the 11th July and she was sold the next day. Initially I was left emotionless, completely neutral, perhaps startled by the speed of the process, went through the motions of tidying her and showing her with masks on in a robotic manner. Went to bed, slept fine but then woke up feeling gouged out when the reality set it. She is our home, our sanctuary, the bringer togetherer of family and friends and the facilitator of adventures that would be otherwise impossible. Perhaps its an acute case of sellers remorse or perhaps its just because we’re ending on a high, suddenly feeling cut short despite having gone through the thinking and effort to list her. But we have ended on a high, and we feel we have made the right decision – it’s just really hard. She is however going to such a wonderful family who are seasoned cruisers and I’m envious of them starting boat life all over again. Just the kind of people that we’d hoped to hand her over to. May LodeStar bring as much pleasure and adventure as she has for us.

Her new owners

Why now? Why so soon? What will you do? Why on earth during a global pandemic? Pre Covid we were always going to sell LodeStar around about now so we’re not far off original plans. Our sailing adventure was planned to be about 18 months.

Looking tip top

Luckily her new owners had found our blog and we were reassured not to have to sweep clean and remove artwork prior to their visit 🙂

When the world got turned upside down, being on a boat seemed the most sensible idea so we toyed with doing another season in the Caribbean, taking us to June 2021, having also been ‘short-changed’ on our Bahamas exploration as it was shut down at the time and allowing the global instability to hopefully settle somewhat before we became land lubbers once more. But as we all know, it’s impossible to predict the future, especially now, and we thought we’d put it out to the universe – if she sold, we’d know it was time, if not, we’d do another season. The universe seemed clear on the next move.

Getting LodeStar ready for sales photos whilst at anchor was by no means an easy task

The girls provided their input and the main feeling was sell. Of course we all wanted to keep her and have a dual life. They want to go home and back to school and see their friends. If only this was even a possibility. Makes our decision sound counter intuitive. The girls have fortunately been protected from the lockdown difficulties in South Africa. Besides being warm (maybe too warm, making for some hot and bothered times) and having a giant swimming pool available all day, they have been able to interact with some children and cannot possibly appreciate what their friends at home have had to go through.

Last overnight sail – the girls always slept in the saloon area where it’s most stable

But we feel that perhaps they have had enough. Unless they have other kids to play with these days, Mom and Dad just don’t seem to cut it. Walking a new town, exploring another beach, doing another history tour and having to be with your sister 24/7 can get a bit tiresome. They’ve spent 20% of their childhood on LodeStar and they are both excited at the prospect of selling and are already discussing how they will arrange their stuffed animals in the vehicle we will need to move into. Long may that novelty last 😬.

All the ‘swimming’ babies that aren’t allowed inside as they ‘wee’

We’ve been privileged to have our children all to ourselves, as intense and over stimulating as that can sometimes be, and although we cannot send them back into society just yet, we are going to change things up and do something different. As each birthday rolls around, it always reminds us of how quickly they grow up and how the previous year is gone forever. Ending our LodeStar adventure has exacerbated this feeling. But it has been wonderful. And we are leaving while we’re on top. I am forever grateful to my husband and captain for convincing me (it took 10 years!) that giving up our life and sailing into the sunset, with children as the dream evolved, was a good idea. The challenges and experiences we have had has prepared me not to panic that we are now not only jobless, but homeless and countryless too! That it’s actually exciting and fertile grounds for our next Jennings adventure.

Beach picnics never get boring

What we’ll do? We’re figuring that part out but we’ll need a vehicle to cart our stuff(ed animals) around. Or perhaps even a much smaller boat. Watch this space….and watch out even more if we know you and you have a home in the USA 🙂 The sales process isn’t quite complete but we’ve been packing and sorting and getting her ready to hand over in tip top condition in early August.

Southport- anchorage was only big enough for one boat. The Marina next door was annihilated in the hurricane the next week (see pics in following blog)