Ayla - exploring by our own eyes
Our boat “ Ayla”
Instagram @ayla_sailing
Who is on the boat?
Granath family from Sweden
Roberth 49 , Helen 41 , Melvin 13, Vilma 11 , Oliver 10
AYLA monohull, built in Sweden 1978.
How long have you been living on a sailboat while travelling?
Left Sweden spring 2022
What were you doing before you moved aboard?
Lived the ordinary life, working, working. Helen is a midwife and Roberth worked in the Swedish Navy. We saved money and prepared the boat at the same time as we prepared our house for rent out. A really tough time. But worth it. We moved onboard the same day as we departed.
Motivation: What inspired you to embark on a sailing adventure?
The freedom of using our time as we want and to explore the world by our own eyes. Meeting people, showing our kids how different our world is and spending time together as a family.
Is there a typical day for your family on a sailboat?
Coffee, always coffee first. Then the big breakfast battle, what to eat? The one thing everyone in this family eats is pancakes so if that's on the menu all onboard are happy.
Then it depends if we are at sea or not. But its school, exploring, boat work, listening to audio books, watching movies, chilling, relaxing, preparing lunch, dinner. If at sea we always gather in the cockpit for some popcorn or snacks as the sun goes down, hoping to see a green flash.
How do you handle education for your child?
The Swedish school-system does not help us with our education. We are all alone in this matter. We use classic books for education, but as we installed Starlink, we now use more online-education. We follow our national guidelines of education at our best ability as teachers.
What were the biggest challenges you find about this lifestyle?
We do this adventure on savings, we don't work at all. So trying to keep our money us the biggest challenge for us. You need way more money than you can predict.
Has this lifestyle helped you grow and learn?
This journey has made us understand more about the differences in the world. We realise that we come from a country where we can get everything we want in our supermarket, and also at a reasonable price. We take a lot for granted back home. However we have learned that people are happy with what they have, our problem is that we are so used to have everything available around the corner and if we don't get it we start missing it.
How do you connect with others while sailing?
Instagram, NFL, Facebook and WhatsApp.
Starlink is a gamechanger in connecting with other sailors and for education and planning.
Our three children
Do you have any memorable cultural experiences?
The remote atolls in Kiribati (Butaritari)and in Micronesia (Woleai). We were so welcomed and the people lived in such a harmony in the most basic way of life. We were invited to families and they were so friendly, generous and helpful.
What items would you not go without ?
Our watermaker, windvane and the ice-machine.
What Lies Ahead: Do you have future plans or new destinations in mind?
We had 3.5 years off and we are doing a circumnavigation that ends in 2025. Kids will go back to school and we will start working again. Moving in to our house. Going back to the wheel.
Do you have a heartfelt message or piece of wisdom/advice for people looking to embark on similar adventures?
Set a date for departure and just go! We worked our ass off and left with a boat not 100% ready. However we just went around the corner to our favourite island and crashed. The boat was filled with stuff, not organised at all. The watermaker was in boxes. But you can do the rest on the way.
Soo worth it!
