Love at First Sight

In December 2010 John was surfing the internet looking at available yachts online. Not with an intent to buy, but to spend a little time in dreamland — an ocean fantasy that neither of us were seriously looking to create. John found a yacht, Taiko, and with it we began serious conversations of turning this dream into reality. 

We put those thoughts on hold as we traveled Vietnam at the end of December, but resumed discussions when we returned a month later. Taiko was sold to her first bidder, but the seed had been planted. We begun our search for another suitable yacht. We found one in Virginia, however as we were looking to book flights we found out I was also pregnant. 

Determined to bring a child into the world without letting it stop our dreams, we altered plans. A yacht on the other side of the globe posed complications, so we restarted our search locally. Within a week we put an offer on a Ganley Solution. On the day we had our seven week ultrasound, we also received an acceptance on our offer to purchase Ātea. I immediately sent out an email to our families informing them of two new additions to our lives: A big surprise and a very small surprise. Both would carry us forward on our next great adventure. 

Within two months, we completed an intense execution phase and on 5 May 2011, we departed New Zealand for the South Pacific: Two onboard our new yacht and a stowaway who snuck along for the ride.