Today, Mary Margaret and I went over to get to know Andres and Sophie a bit better. They are the owners of S/V Shift, which is the Lagoon 440 that just sold yesterday. They will be on board for a few weeks more while they pack up their stuff and move off the boat.

We brought with us a six pack of beer as a thank you for introducing their broker to us a couple of days ago. Since it was only 1000, we all agreed it as too early to start guzzling beer so they offered us some nice coffee instead. We also met their 12 year old son, Enzo, and their 11 year old daughter, Anais.

What makes Andres and Sophie so remarking is that they have been sailing for a year with their family but Anais is not able to care for herself. She is their miracle baby. She was not expected to survive long after birth but through some miracle did. She only has the mental capacity of a 6 month old and while she can fed herself, she is supplementally fed through a feeding tube. Nevertheless, she is very alert with sparkly eyes and enjoys having company. She also loves the extra motion one gets during sailing and her favorite spot on the boat is up at the helm when either Andres or Sophie have the watch.

Through such constant care hardships, Andres and Sophie sailed from Gibraltar, across the North Atlantic Ocean, to St. Lucia and then from St. Lucia up the Antilles to here. They felt so lucky to have this opportunity and to share it with their kids. They are both young and hope to return to the sea again someday. In the meantime, they plan on returning to Long Beach, California where they own a few apartment complexes. They specialize in buying and then renovating them.

We encourage you to check out their blog, which is at svshift.com. In their blog, they have posted some of Enzo’s remarkable drone videos. He is such a talented videographer and captures the thrill and adventure of sailing and exploring in them. They offer such a neat perspective!

I had forgotten to bring my camera with me when we went over to Shift so I have grabbed a photo of Andres, Sophie and their children from their blog and posted it to this blog.