A British couple has braved their overworked schedules to live on a 42ft yacht, but it’s not all plain sailing.
Tired of their 9-5 schedules, Laura, 43, and Ross Colledge, 39, from Cornwall, decided to sell their house and splashed out on a £100,000 yacht.
For the past five years, the couple have been sailing around the Greek islands with their two sons, Noah, nine, and Josh, 12, receiving an unconventional upbringing.
After purchasing their 2005 Bavaria 42 yacht in 2018, the couple began traveling between Newquay and Plymouth to improve their sailing skills and have since ended up further afield.
But this bold move didn’t come without problems, with Laura admitting: “Life in yachting is very fast-paced, so achieving a work-life balance is tricky.” Maintaining any type of routine is a challenge.
Pictured: The Colledge family enjoying the Greek sun.
Laura, 43, and Ross Colledge, 39, from Cornwall, decided to sell their house and splashed out on a £100,000 yacht. In the photo above is his son.
Her son Noah enjoys time with one of the family cats in his beautiful room while doing his schoolwork on a laptop.
Former PT Laura, who has fibromyalgia, works out in the living room.
“You have to be able to ‘become a chameleon’ when time or other circumstances demand a change of plans.”
He added that this can also take a toll on relationships, saying: “Sailing life is sometimes a 24/7 pressure cooker, and you not only have to learn to pick your battles, but also where you stand.” you will commit or not.”
That said, the couple wouldn’t trade their new lifestyle for the world after becoming disillusioned with the frenetic pace of life in the UK.
Laura and Ross, directors of Sailing Holly Blue on YouTube and BoatFit Online Health and Fitness Coaching, decided to take the leap after reevaluating their lives.
The former PT and online trainer said Ross worked more than 50 hours a week as a partner in a fire installation company.
“We were like ships in the night,” he said. ‘Ross felt that our children’s formative years were fading before our eyes and a lot was being lost.
“We wanted to be able to better meet Josh’s additional educational needs, as he has ADHD and suspected high-functioning autism, while also providing them with an exciting, adventurous, non-consumerist education that would make them more worldly.”
Laura said: ‘Ross worked more than 50 hours a week and we were like ships in the night. He felt that our children’s formative years were fading before our eyes and that a lot was being lost.” Pictured: Ross, Noah and Josh.
Laura commented: “As far as relationships go, you’ll soon know if the person you’re with is your soulmate.”
‘Ross remortgaged our newly renovated house and took a chance on a boat we had visited and loved a few months earlier when we were exploring marinas.
“We have both been water babies as surfers and kayakers in Newquay for many years, so the ocean has always attracted us.”
The plan was for Laura to fly to Cyprus with the children while Ross began a three-month trip to find them from the UK.
Ross said: ‘Laura has fibromyalgia, which is a central nervous system condition caused by stress, so we originally wanted an ocean-based life to be healthier overall.
“But while Laura and the children were in Cyprus, she experienced a massive outbreak due to the stress of leaving our old life and me sailing dangerous seas.
“He had to spend a couple of weeks in the hospital.”
In the end, the couple changed plans and decided to meet in Greece in June 2019 so they could get back together sooner.
They fell in love with the country and never left.
Laura said: ‘We started our trip as a family in Mykonos. We sailed around the Aegean and Dodecanese islands and finally found a slower pace of life here in the Ionian Islands.
Over the course of their five-year adventure, Laura and Ross upgraded and renovated their yacht.
While the parents are very happy on their yacht, they admit: ‘Maintaining any kind of routine is a challenge. You have to be able to “become a chameleon” when time or other circumstances require a change of plans.
Laura said of her and Ross: “We have both been water babies as surfers and kayakers in Newquay for many years, so the ocean has always attracted us.”
She continued: ‘Some of this has been self-funded, but most of it has been through collaborations with our channel and social media accounts.
‘We have completed numerous improvements to improve our living experience. “We have included solar power, lithium-ion batteries, a watermaker and other modern conveniences that mean we can live completely off the grid, with no utility bills and self-sufficient if we choose.”
Ross is the captain of the family boat and Laura is the first mate.
Noah is currently homeschooled, while Josh attends an online virtual high school.
The family has expanded with the addition of their two cats, Ronnie and Smidge, whom they adopted during their travels in Greece.
And their adventure is just beginning.
He added: ‘Once we get residency here in Greece, we plan to spread our wings further afield.
“Someday we would love to have a bigger boat, as the kids become teenagers and we start to run out of space.”
After purchasing their 2005 Bavaria 42 yacht in 2018, the couple began traveling between Newquay and Plymouth to hone their sailing skills.
The couple “wanted to be able to better meet Josh’s additional educational needs, as he has ADHD and is suspected of being high-functioning autistic, while also providing them with an exciting, adventurous, non-consumerist education that would make them more worldly.”
Regarding her mental health, the mother says that “there is nothing more solid than being so close to nature and at the mercy of the elements.”
‘All other things become so trivial. And as for relationships, you will soon know if the person you are with is your soulmate.
‘Their relationship deepens to an incredible level and their respect, as well as mutual admiration, also strengthens.
‘It’s also great to be able to choose who we socialize with and when.
“The kids have friends, young and old, from all over the world.”