#18 There’s an entire culture stoking a belief that more is better. However, it should come as no surprise that any endeavour involving freedom, travel, and adventure is about learning to live with less.

#17 The cruising community is wide, expansive, and very sociable. If loneliness worries you, don’t let it. The community is encouraging, and friendships and support are never far away

#16 Cruising can, at times, feel less like freedom, travel, and adventure and more like a relentless effort to keep your head above water—sometimes literally!

#15 Sailing is only one of many skillsets a cruiser must acquire but luckily, one of the easiest to obtain.

#14 Few "sail away" books address the gap between making the decision to go and making the money to go. Yet, this is often the biggest obstacle.

#13 As you may or may not be aware, May 21st marks International Tea Day, so I would like to pay homage to two of my favourite night watch companions: tea (quite obviously) and Eric Arthur Blair.

#12 How can you ensure that your partner is fully invested, not merely because of your enthusiasm, but because they genuinely share it?

#11 This week, I want to take a time-out from my usual posts in respect of ANZAC Day here in Australia.

#10 Institutional incarceration is a tried and tested form of punishment, and many kids view school that way too.

#09 A well-rounded, resilient life transcends a singular job or career; it should embody a blend of problem-solving, risk-taking, and uncertainty.

#08 Inertia is fateful, but doubts, fears, and concerns don’t have to be. As Seneca so succinctly said: "It's not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste much of it."

#07 Many people live their entire lives with the choices they made in their teens. Career choice, partner type, hobby, music tastes, political leanings, fashion sense—some never leave their hometown.

#06 Life is like a book, and it’s shorter than you think. How you choose to populate the pages of your book is entirely up to you.

#05 Not to worry too much, but a common thread ties sociopaths, novelty seekers and risk-takers: the pleasure chemical dopamine.

#04i This is a departure from my usual post, but I felt compelled to say something in light of the events of the middle east over that past few months.

#04 Theory suggests that the newborn universe should have had equal amounts of matter and antimatter, and these opposing states..

#03 Irenka and I crossed paths in 2005 while working as flotilla skippers in the Mediterranean.

#02 On the way home from work one day I stopped on a bridge overlooking the Leeds to Liverpool canal. It was 2002 and I was in my thirties.

#01 Welcome to our exciting series of blogs on selling up and sailing away with your family.