Hello all! Floss here with a quick update on what we have been up to on Fat Susan in 2021 and what our plans are next. Although, who bloody knows what will happen next in the world? …..
This was our second attempt at sailing Fat Susan to New Zealand. After failing to sail there directly from Bora Bora in French Polynesia in May 2021, we spent four happy months exploring the incredible islands of Fiji during COVID times. A unique experience. No international tourists and very few sailing boats, but also, Read More
After a year living aboard our sailing boat, Fat Susan, in French Polynesia, during a global pandemic, it was time to move on. We had made the tricky decision to sail down to New Zealand, a mid-ocean passage of three to four weeks in an unpredictable Pacific ocean. We weaved our way to the, Read More
After three months in COVID lockdown in Shelter Bay Marina in Panama, we had finally managed to take Fat Susan through the majestic Panama Canal to the Pacific Ocean. It was July 2020 when we lifted the anchor and sailed south from the Perlas Islands, with the distant islands of French Polynesia in our, Read More
What are our must have boat gadgets for living aboard and travelling on our sailing boat?? After travelling overland around the world, we were pretty good at knowing what travel gear worked in our backpacks, and what didn’t. We had our favourite travel accessories that are invaluable to us while on the road. Since, Read More
The RYA Diesel Engine Course doesn’t sound like the most exciting way to spend a Sunday, does it? Well, it isn’t. But if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to learn all about that diesel engine on your boat and save loads of money in the long term, this is it! Read this, Read More
This is the story of how we negotiated and renegotiated the price of our boat, after getting a marine survey. It’s a summary of how we searched for a boat, found a boat, made an offer on a boat, had a boat survey done, haggled, negotiated, whinged, cried and eventually, handed over a huge, Read More
Buying your first boat is a crazy, terrifying, exciting, frustrating and above all, expensive business. Buying a used sailing boat is even worse. There are so many traps to fall into, so many untruths to uncover, so many complicated procedures to follow. We’ve just about managed to stumble our way through to boat ownership., Read More
A whole two months have passed since we purchased our 1990 Oyster 435 sailing boat. And what a two months it has been! Our slightly naive plan was to buy our perfect boat at the start of the UK sailing season and be sailing confidently around the Solent by the end of said season,, Read More
Buying a sailing boat isn’t as easy as it sounds. When you are a sailing novice and a boat buying newbie, the choices can be overwhelming. This is a quick idiot’s guide to how we narrowed down our search and bought a sailing boat. If you’re thinking of buying a sailing yacht for a world-wide, Read More