I have sailed small boats up to 18 feet ever since I was six years old and always had a love of the ocean as I grew up on waterfront property in British Columbia. When I was nineteen (a long, long time ago....1973), I moved away from the coast for my job and except for the odd vacation, I was [...]

away from the water until 2006, when my wife Sharna and I moved to Bermuda; again for a job. Sharna grew up landlocked, spending her summers when she was young at a seaside cottage in the Gulf Islands her grandparents owned. Once we arrived in Bermuda we decided that we had to make a choice on our recreation; golfing or buying a boat and hanging out on, and in the water. Each we knew would demand a large commitment of our limited free time. The decision was easy.....we bought the boat. Bermuda is only twenty-one square miles and the water is ever present and ever beckoning. We purchased an old but stalwart 20 foot Boston Whaler. I would say that this purchase changed our lives forever; my love of the sea was rekindled and Sharna's desire to be on the water, not just by it, was born. After three and a bit years of living in Bermuda we travelled to Tortola, BVI to visit some friends we had made while they lived & worked in Bermuda. Jean & Wayne had purchased a sailboat to live aboard and take advantage of the ideal sailing conditions in the BVI----a brand we'd never heard of---Island Packet. We spent 8 days sailing and hanging with them on their 485 and the hook was set. Shortly after our return from vacationing in the BVI to Bermuda, there she was....Casuarina...a 1995 IP40 for sale. She was perfect! After falling in love with our friends boat, and with our original plan to purchase a boat on leaving Bermuda in three or four more years, we decided to buy her and moved aboard May 15th of this year (2010). We are now on a steep learning curve living aboard our new love. It seems we learn something new every day! Who knew there was so much involved in owning and sailing a 40ft sailboat! We absolutely love this life and love living aboard and sailing whenever we have the chance. Jim