Greetings from Germany! My wife and I are in the very early stages of planning to select and
purchase a
catamaran for
liveaboard. We’re in the process of deciding a few things regarding both the timeline and our general strategy for purchse. Our tentative timeline is to either
purchase a new
catamaran and place it into
charter for approx. 5 years starting in 2021, or save up and purchase a used catamaran in 3 to 5 years. We haven't decided on a specific make, model, or length yet in order to gain some
experience first. We do have some initial ideas/impressions. We like the Bali 4.8 (we've only been on the 5.4 but hope to tour the 4.8 at La Grande Motte), Saona 47,
Lagoon 450 (we've been on the 46), Elba 45, Helia 44, and Astrea 42.
My wife and I grew up on the
water. I love swimming, snorkling, surfing, kite surfing, and
scuba diving, but we've been land-locked for a while now. We both have a lot of
experience primarily on motorboats on Lake Michigan and the
Carribean Sea. My wife has never sailed and I've only sailed on friends'
boats (monohulls) and completed the RYA competent crew course years ago in
Singapore. I was also in the
Navy for 15 years and have coastal and riverine
small boat experience. We’re working through our schedule for the remainder of this year in order to maximize our exposure and experience. We have some significant
family events occurring through the end of the year including helping our youngest (of four) child prepare for his senior year in High
School starting this fall and aspirations to attend the Air Force Academy. Our oldest three are all in the military following in my footsteps (in their own ways)! I transitioned from the
Navy to the Army and recently retired at 44. I'm currently working as a humble
Government Service Civilian. We have been in
Germany for five years and can stay an additional three to five if we like, but we would honestly like to get back to
Asia. I intend to fully retire in approximately five years regardless.
We hope to attend the
multihull yacht show in La Grande Motte this April if it is not cancelled due to the covid-19 hysteria. My wife and I are excited to tour some more yachts following attending Cannes 2019 and Boot 2020. We also plan to hopefully
charter in the
Virgin Islands or
California this year for a one week
ASA 101 – 114 course. We hope to
bareboat charter this fall in
Croatia, and possibly in
Asia next year. I have limited experience sailing in Asia, and my wife has no experience, so we are looking forward to getting miles under our belt. I will say that currently we are still undecided if we want to purchase a new yacht to place in charter, or purchase a used yacht. I would appreciate some experienced opinions regarding both options. I look forward to chatting with all of you and exploring our future return to the ocean!