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Closed Captions (CC):
let's sing a song full update why don't

you sing along my friend for it's a last

refrain Forever Young have a strong have

a bright memories like this never and

the little fade away so winner

[Music]

hi guys welcome to our channel I'm Laura

I'm Ross hot off and we live on a boat

Holly blue with our two little boys

joshie and Noah we just wanted to talk

to you today really in this episode

about what how we got where we are and

the journey the very long journey we

went on to get here so yeah we didn't

really pick up the camera until we got

to EOS so what we'd like to do is just

recap you all the events that led to us

basically becoming a live aboard family

and kind of like you might be here for

inspiration you hopefully find that you

might be here because you're in sailing

so there's certainly some sailing and

you won't be here to just have a bit of

luck but you definitely yeah that and

you may be interested in the world

aspects of our of our life because we

have school kids on the boat we've run a

business from the boat and it's amazing

so I suppose we should start with from

the beginning from the beginning which

is when that in the beginning our eyes

met across a bar and then fast boarding

from there we then got married - no well

fast forwarding from that we had a baby

and then we got married

she kind of did everything in Reverse so

I've been together about 10 years now

and then along pops Noah and we were

living the cushy little suburban life

boys like school I was a competitive

bodybuilding after day

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what was doing really well in his job he

was working for a fire station company

I've had my own business and I was

working from home as a fitness lifestyle

diet cage even when we met we were

always travelers always like we've taken

the kids to Australia we've toured

Europe we've been snowboarding we've

been really into like extreme sports and

just kind of really living life we like

to live well and mystically yet we had

this huge house a nice car we wanted to

be with our kids more you know we wanted

to be a fully functioning together

family and find a way to make our life

work where we could have every element

that we love in our life from the age of

16 I always wanted to sail around the

world

yeah not much of a dream but then more

recently I was sort of looking at boats

and sort of had the idea so we weren't

elected the boat this this boat Laura

was sort of dead against the idea was

weird because actually it was like I

derived love at first sight it was so

yeah it was amazing and went down in a

cabin I was just like this is it's a

perfect size you wouldn't think that

monohull would be the right size for a

four-person family

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at first we were like I've got to do

this you're going to do that we really

want to get it and then but it's only

Airin half was at risk type two sensible

hat yeah it's ourselves back into no we

should stay in our jobs and we should

stay in this house and we should be

doing what everyone else is doing so we

put it on the back burner for a little

while

I was really busy at work and then it

was Christmas time I decided to put an

offer on the bait I didn't tell Laura

alias got the finances sorted we raced

and capital from the house and that

whole process took about six weeks

here's a bit up and down we've getting

the boat fastened up a story basically

got the keys we picked it up and took it

from Dartmouth to Plymouth and I didn't

even know how to park the boat that

don't start it one way or another we got

it there this is me and my dad I think

is the following weekend have a look at

a parking spot in a marina if I said to

Laura why don't we go and look at a

marina to put though there might be some

other boats there but there's one space

left in this marina and you know we

should maybe just look at it and see you

know what we think marina so we drove

there and Laura didn't know that Polly

bloomers you know more that and she was

moored up on e pontoon all completely on

array and then you walked down the

pontoon you twisted yeah your face on

smackeroos priceless and the first thing

I did was insta story--it

cuz I'll see you today well you were

interred about your day anyway yeah I

always do i intrude every day for the

way

it's from toxic say then you knew about

the fight and I needed to learn how to

say look because I had any had probably

I don't know six weeks of dingey sailing

experience so he had a summer of sailing

a new learning sailed away in Plymouth

yeah it was so really any sort of

weekends I got myself to sort of ICC

level that season and then we decided to

make the break and quit jobs sell up and

leave schools and basically turn our

entire lives upside down

alright shares in the business to sell

my shares you sort of with a school

stuff out got the kids house business

running we were renovating our house and

that still add at least another mums

work left source goings yeah finishing

jobs basically we got it done in the

process of getting it done that we had a

hell of a lot of stress to deal with as

in the mental stress of leaving your

life you had Mae Mississippi oh my gosh

so the amount of times I like it a

backtrack to just like sucked it all off

a lot done it and we just kept pushing

each other and don't remind each other

of all those times when we said we

wanted to do it and how much we worked

for it and how much it was so right for

us as people and for our souls and we

just kept each other going there's

always one of us driving yeah yeah

that'd be like the other all be pulling

back and then but we did look like

beeline for the whole thing we realign

for it and it felt like it was getting

at a million miles an hour so basically

what half the next is I flee to Cyprus

with the boys to be with my parents

minutes

I had a little bungalow near where they

lived and what I went into fully

homeschooling carrying my business on

and basically waiting in Cyprus for Ross

to complete his sail over to where it

was supposed to be Cyprus and I'll let

Ross tell you the story well travel at

that point I said I work still in the

house so I spent three to four weeks

finishing the house then we rented that

out there was some odd jobs to do on the

bay there was a radar reflector to put

on the master bits and bobs like that

had to take my ICC test where you go to

you know go in Europe to then across the

Bay of Biscay having done a to issue or

anything like that we took the test on

this boat and luckily I pass and I

remember the examiners saying why do you

want your ICC I said well I'm just sort

of planning to maybe cross the channel

live to front and he said oh okay well

if you need any help you know I'll come

with you little did he know that we were

just about to leave and sail to Greece

well I was basically to Cyprus breeding

and eggs we love Greece so much but um

yeah and then when like me and voice a

goodbye to a Bristol Airport like I'll

never forget it it was it we didn't know

who ever gonna see each other again it

was like with I felt like me and the

boys were possibly saying goodbye to

their diet that's how intense it felt

for me and how serious it felt for us as

a family

was like really traumatic actually it

was a combination of faith and fear and

just basically that is what courage is

isn't it it's having faith even though

you're afraid to keep going forwards and

that's what we had we had to battle with

at all moments with our faith and our

fear so I would say first Ross started

its journey we left Plymouth and sail

across the channel to Rosskopf in France

we had a couple days there because the

wind was really strong and then we had

sailed from Rostov cross the babe is gay

down to La Coruna

we went around Russians and then I gave

you a call to say goodbye you know that

we had radio silence for two days

because I literally lost my second then

that was it but the cross thing was

really good we picked a really good

weather wind day we had loads of

dolphins for four times a day dolphins

on the bow really good yeah they were

they were like spurring us on you know

and I think when you get to the halfway

point where it's actually nearer to

carry on it's really yeah and also we

had a couple of passengers two birds

that you popped on board and how a wood

pigeon could be out in the middle of a

Fisker know

like a messenger the nooh - it's gonna

be okay knowing well we were a little

bit ahead of schedule especially there

this one morning but we're actually

there in the evening and I gave Laura a

ring to say where I don't know 10 miles

from land so we were close found a beach

at the time with the boys in Cyprus and

Wow when I got that call it was like wow

he's been a time apart before like no

problem but we're always feels like

we're connected by like this little

invisible string and that is the only

time in our entire time we've been

together where I felt like last string

was broken and it was literally the

straw that broke my camel's back when we

actually moored up you then had a bit of

a crisis Tinley yeah so throughout the

whole stress of upheaving nightlife and

the change and the worry and all the

fear of what was gonna happen Ross and

then like I said the destroy that great

break the camel's back when he crossed

the Bay of Biscay I've been experiencing

so like physical symptoms all kinds of

different weird stuff pain panic attacks

these horrible feelings and it kind of

gravitated and then gained traction and

she was admitted to hospital for two

weeks

not knowing what was wrong with me

having these crazy like labor type pains

which I wasn't pregnant by the way there

was like a whole over physical thing was

happening to me they suspected cancer

they suspected pain tumors all kinds of

things it's very worrying time when I

found that out I hopped on three planes

to be 24 hours to get from La Coruna to

Cyprus in tell me again didn't tell her

again I'm good at that Laura's mom

picked me up from Larnaca Airport and

drove me to the hospital Laura thought

she was just visiting her then I could

run the corner there yeah and it was

like suddenly all of the pain in the

wound of worry and everything I've been

through I had this sudden jolt of energy

and I had like my I had hope again it

was really nice to it's been nearly six

weeks yeah we really would really really

missed each other's that that really

lifted me up and I was finally diagnosed

with massive fibromyalgia flare-up so I

didn't even know I had fibromyalgia

looking back over the years apparently

uh it was very obvious that I've

probably had it for most of my life

unfortunately I was admitted again

during the time that waswas with us

until I was at the point where I could

leave here my parents and they could

take care of Lisa but what could carry

on the trip

and that was where you then had to leave

again

so then had to say goodbye kept back to

LA coruna and we had some really bad

weather and to wait another couple of

days to left La Coruna headed for VA

which is still in Spain but just north

of Portugal really nice spot to anchor

there had a rest cuz I took two or three

days and then we left Vigo headed down

to a harbor right near Lisbon I'll just

write like that give names and then had

another rest another leg down to

Gibraltar we were ahead for that one and

we had something the Gibraltar Strait at

2:00 in the morning another worry once

we're in I was just so relieved because

I was in the meds you know like a kind

of felt safer like I'm in a big lake

little did I know that the mat is pretty

much just as dangerous as any other so

it still felt like a good achievement

yeah we went and looked around Gibraltar

up on the rock all that and then left

and we so for I FIFA

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we've been to our people on holiday

before after that so that was nice to go

back first

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[Applause]

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we left by FIFA and sail to south of

Sardinia anchored up or another couple

of nights you have nice little holiday

really yeah it's pretty good yeah

obviously weird you know dodging weather

windows in order we put in between that

leave my dad who's helping it the time

we have a few beers and yeah experience

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[Applause]

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so from South Sardinia we then went to

North Sicily

[Applause]

[Music]

from there we went north Sicily round

the corner forget all life it's cool to

the southern tip of Italy and then cut

across to Catalonia and Preveza

even went to second boss as well

actually

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from there we went under this big bridge

and towards the Corinth canal did the

crew cut out at night as well all sort

of about five in the morning

teaching you some of the best places

we've done in the dark for some reason

but that was actually really doable to

do from the Corinth canal we sailed on

to Athens and then on Mykonos which is

where you hopped on the plane

spend an hour on a plane got off the

plane in Mykonos I remember and being in

arrivals and there's these like sliding

doors which kept opening and shutting

and they were opening I could see joshan

no and they shut again like come on then

open again and Laura's there waving at

me and and then Josh ran through and I

saw him first and then Noah

and Laura's still carrying the bags at

this point from there I had got myself a

hiker picked them up and unfortunately I

couldn't put the boat in the port

another story there so I was anchored up

on the south side on one of the beaches

we said so it was really like winning

like silk it was incredible we went via

Naxos which is in the island just north

of it and that's pretty much where the

journey really began you guys are gonna

step in on Wimmer in E off switch is our

next episode episode - just wanna weep

free when I first started sailing - and

you'll you'll see in the first couple of

days lures for anxious it basically I

was a bag of nerves and there's times

when were like you know 20 feet away

from a boat and she's always so close

yes because

three the thing is like I would be

nervous because all this stuff is so new

and I would be so worried about the boat

and asked and everything but then if I

would worry then it would make symptoms

come and then when the symptoms come

then I worry about the symptoms so it's

kind of like a vicious cycle I'm so I

was dealing with quite a lot but still

like you know looking back now where we

are now in Laros like months later it's

made me and asked stronger than ever

because now once you've pushed your

boundaries and once you've pushed your

limits anything underneath that then

feels like a breeze it makes you realise

that actually you have no limits and and

it's definitely helped my condition in

fact because like I don't really

struggle

I think hardly your your condition and

your sailing have just gone up we're

like in a steep learning curve yeah he's

finally been learning all along the way

and now you know we're getting on quite

well

at the moment the point where we're at

right now is to get as much content out

to you guys and to show you our journey

and to like hopefully inspire people and

basically get as much work done in the

winter as you possibly can while we're

in this lovely quiet island of leros

then when the same week season starts

again then we can start having lots more

fun again and showing you guys like

looking more and showing you guys all of

Greece all the incredible over 2,000

islands that there are every single one

is unique a beautiful and different and

special in its own way we also want to

show you how we manage our life as you

can see the boys like they're so lovely

and so much fun and we just want to take

you along for the ride you'll see it

you'll probably laugh you read off if

you're an experienced say there's some

of the ridiculous mistakes that we made

some of

ridiculous reactions that I had and I

know that you like a barrel of laughs

watching that and hopefully you're just

if you're not in sailing you're just

gonna really enjoy seeing a bit of

grease seeing some family fun and you'll

stick around for what's to come home so

hope you've enjoyed listening to our

story today we'd love sharing it with

you if you would like to see more of our

vlogs and please obviously press the

thumbs up like and subscribe so you get

notifications of when we upload each of

our videos and you stick home thank you

very much for watching thanks guys for

watching yeah see you on the next one

Cheers

[Music]