We finally made it! In October of this year we upped sticks from Brighton - UK and moved to Greece to live aboard our 53' Amel Super Maramu yacht. An unbelie...

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So we finally made it. We're in

Greece in Two Rocks Bay

The last blog - I can't remember when it was - but there's been so much going on.

Woody's come out to Greece he's been on

the boat for a week then he came back to

England and then he went out again, this

time his Dad came out and they went through the whole boats.

They got the engine serviced, they found some bikes that they didn't expect

and then loads of other stuff. They

spent the whole week going through the

boat, getting people organized for

various different jobs that needed doing.

Before the boat was launched in the

water. So if it's out the water, to get

onto the boat you have a ladder and you

have to climb up the ladder every time

and carry things down the ladder it was

a really awkward situation. I think there

was loads of stuff - he kept

saying how much stuff there was. So the

engine needed servicing - that had to be

done - the generator needed servicing but

then it turned out the generator was - well

we're not even sure it's worth having it serviced

so he didn't get his service in

the end. The outboard engines needed

servicing - one turned out, it wasn't

working at all. The propeller needed

doing, the bow thruster needed doing,

all the gas needed checking. There was a

whole list of things from the survey

that needed doing before the insurance

company were willing to insure us. Woody was working, he was changing anodes, he

was servicing bilge pumps. An anode is

on the outside of a boat and it prevents

important parts the boat corroding. Yeah

the insurance company wouldn't insure us

unless we had those things done by

professional companies so it meant there

was extra expense as well. So from what

I've heard there was a really nice to

Taverna nearby so I think that's where he

went to have his dinner and his beers

and his lunches probably as well. So

then he went out again before the boat

was launched - he arrived the

day before the boat had to be put in the

water. I think when he arrived the bow

thruster was still in pieces. He arrived

with a load of mates so they all want to

go out and have a little bit of a sail

and you know, have a bit of a good

time on the boat. They were also there to help.

So I think Woody had a massive

list of things that they were supposed

to be doing each day. They were out a lot

as well - usual story. It was a tight

schedule to get the boat launched - it

could only be on this day or we'd have

to wait two weeks.

Okay? Good to go!

Yep. Everyone Ready?

Yeah, so Amel's are really unique boats. They did a shakedown sail and they

tested all the systems.

Bacon, mushrooms, eggs.

Yeah, so then the crew left - there was a

bit of a storm at night so it's a bit

nerve-wracking for Woody - they left and

he had to wait a couple of days before

we were due to come out. So while Woody was getting the boat ready I was trying

to organize the new tenants that were

going to move in making sure the jobs

were done in the house. There was lots of

unfinished DIY jobs that I did with

help from my friends. I was also trying to

pack our bags to bring out you know, we

had eight bags, a hundred and sixty kilos of luggage so I was trying to work out what

we needed. I was also trying to order

things for the boat which we needed like

kiddy netting, a new computer, a

printer, paperwork from the business,

paperwork from tax returns - I had to do tax returns. I was trying to sort out health

insurance cards, sort out home schooling

as well so I'm getting a massive pack of

home schooling stuff ready. In the evenings I

would do tea and then when the kids went

to bed I pretty much carried on for another five hours and evening working. I managed to fit in a little party on one

afternoon. There was so much going on I

didn't even really have much time to

think I've got to say. There was lots of

tools that we need to buy for the boat

that's battery-powered so we did a bit

of last-minute shopping at Power Tool

World. I was hoping to go and get some

new summer clothing there wasn't a lot

in a lot of shops but we did manage to

get a few really nice things in Weird

fish. I think trying to leave England and

trying to organize renting of the house

and try and pack all our stuff up as

well as try and pack things to bring

with us with you know, within sort of eight

bags of 20 kilos each as well as all the

homeschooling stuff and tools was

probably one of the most difficult

things I've done really. I found that

really difficult. I didn't even expect to

feel so emotional. My two brothers came

the night before and for the kids it was a

really early start so they had to get up

at four and so they were quite tired we has us a bacon sandwich and then we had to kind

of get masses and masses of hand luggage - three guitars, a violin as well as our

small bags through customs. They took all the guitar cases off, all

the clothes that I've stuffed in were

coming out, all the last-minute washing

of our underwear I was falling out. It

was it was quite difficult but I was so

relieved that I've managed to get out of

the house. When we arrived I was really

so excited, I was literally, physically

jumping with joy with excitement and

happiness.

I hadn't really let myself get excited

because I had so much to do before that

- I hadn't even seen the boat so when I

actually saw the boat and realized what a

strong, good, seaworthy boat this is - the

perfect boat for a family - I was so

relieved and so happy I was actually

crying a laughing in its own time. I

think when I finally arrived I actually

realized that we'd done it! This plan

that we've been planning for over 10

years - I've been wanting to do since I

was nine years old - was finally happening

it was quite unbelievable. I think

finally I could talk to Woody and we hadn't

had time to talk or even look at

each other - there wasn't any minute for

that, there was just so much going on it was just non-stop. I didn't allow myself to

stop because there wasn't time for it.

And so you know to think we're all

together as a family and we're about to

start this huge journey was such a

massive achievement. I don't even know

how to describe it really it was just..

even now I can't believe that

we've finally done it. I mean there's

loads of things that need doing on this

boat. You know, I've left a house that is

in perfect order - absolutely perfect - to

you know, a home that needs a lot of work

on it. So we arrived, we brought all our

bags on the boat. So the first few days

were really just unpacking and finding a

place for everything so we weren't

surrounded by bags. And then there

wasn't really in time to work out the

boat systems, I just thought Woody

knows how to do it all - I'll pick it up as

we go along. Also cleaning - I wanted to

Hoover out all the cupboards so I was

doing quite a bit of that. Woody was

covering all the sort of food and domestic

stuff which was great.

They don't have massive supermarkets so

it's quite expensive. The children do

find it interesting though. Everything's

so different they like going to the fish

shops and the fish markets they like

looking at the different vegetables.

When the kids first arrived they started

stowing their things away into their

little lockers. I felt sorry for the kids

thinking - God, I've just got rid of all

their stuff and limited the amount of things

they bring and now you know, my youngest one was putting like one toy in the

middle of a huge cupboard and you

know, I almost felt.. it was almost quite

emotional just seeing that and thinking

My God, what have we done actually. I

was actually wondering what have we done, we just simplified their life so much

and they don't have anything left.

They seem to sort of just immediately

kind of, feel quite comfortable with it

and quite happy. There wasn't any

complaints. The cabins are obviously

tiny compared to their bedrooms at home.

Even trying to keep some routines

similar to the England's to help them

adjust to a new life. We also started

homeschooling after a couple of days

which is basically Maths for an hour

than English and then either science,

history or geography. It's not been too

bad - there's been a little bit of

resistance but you know we kind of just

keep that routine going and at the end

of the morning you feel like you've

really done quite a bit. The kids have

done a little bit of cooking on board

already - middle son - he likes making

pancakes so he's been doing the pancakes

on Saturdays just like we did in England.

And on Sundays we've had bacon

butties and egg sandwiches. My eldest

daughter she was doing little puddings -

chocolate puddings - and we're putting

them in the microwave.