Problem: Where to go after selling our longtime home in Lake Tapps, WA? Our three adult children were living in different cities and hadn’t yet put down roots. Pete wanted snow. Corey wanted warmth & sunshine. Both of us, at 60-something years old, wanted adventure and shared experiences with family and friends.

Hypothesis: Buy a catamaran and sail around the world. Corey thought Pete was crazy when he first proposed the idea. Pete had significant experience sailing and racing sailboats, but that was decades ago BC (Before Corey). But we had spent countless hours on the water throughout our 30+ year marriage, chasing the wind while windsurfing and kiteboarding .

Procedure: A 2019 scouting trip to the Annapolis Boat Show resulted in our deposit on a Balance 482, a 48’ catamaran under design that promised to balance sailing comfort with performance. Add a weeklong sailing course in the US Virgin Islands, an 11-day bareboat charter in Tahiti with Pete as skipper, focused online and in-person learning, and a year’s lease of a 41’ Beneteau — all essential to growing our skills.

Results: Corey joined Pete in retirement in May 2022. We vacated our rental home, shared heartfelt fare-thee-wells with family & friends, and jetted off to South Africa where Catalyst is being built. Hulls #1-5 of the Balance 482 have been completed, garnering a myriad of industry accolades. Anticipated launch of our Catalyst, Hull#6, is late July 2022.

Conclusions: Follow our blog — we’re eager to see where this journey takes us, too!