SAILING
#1 – We bought a sailboat
When you have read ABOUT US, you know how we came up with the idea of sailing around the world. In this blog you’ll find out what steps we’ve taken and what experiences we’ve made until we found our Lumos.
For about 1.5 years we searched the internet for sailboats and compared different boat brands. It seemed impossible to find a used boat that would suit us and would meet all the criteria of a long-distance cruising boat.
We wanted to feel like home on our boat and to be as independent as possible during our trip. We also knew that we wanted to anchor most of the time and not spend the nights in expensive marinas.
This meant that we had to produce our own electricity and make our own drinking water. Very soon it was clear to us that we would have to buy a boat which we would have to upgrade according to our needs.
To get a better feeling about the boat length, we visited different boat shows. We realized that the price of boats increases significantly from 40 feet (12m) upwards. Furthermore, the bigger boats are not always super easy to handle for a shorthanded crew.
So, we agreed on a boat length between 36 feet (11m) and 40 feet (12m) and decided to go with the boat brand Hanse Yachts because we liked their design the most.
Lumos, was the second Hanse 375, which we went to see in person. The price was well above our budget but we still decided to go and see for ourselves. With a lot of confidence and with the hope to lower the price, we took the next plane to London. In case the seller would not be willing to negotiate, we would need more time to save the extra money, but we were ready to postpone the start of our trip.
The boat was even more beautiful than on the pictures we saw at home. After a great sea trial and a positive feedback from an expert, we decided to buy it. We were able to lower the price and just eight weeks later we were two very proud boat owners.
To call the sailboat ours, was the biggest proof that we were a huge step closer to our dream.
To learn more about our floating home: Meet Lumos.
