I’ve been sailing virtually all my life, well since I was big enough to remember anyway. It has always been in the back of my mind that I want to be able to spend more time sailing than on normal vacations only. I’m a software engineer, but for more than the past decade, I’ve been working in a sales organisation. My job job has been mainly technical sales support and consultancy services, but the driving factor has been the shortsighted sales cycle – you’re only as good as your last quarter type of thinking. Over time, I’ve grown tired of this and less motivated by my job.

I started thinking about a Plan B. What if I could leave the sales business and do something more meaningful, less hectic and more fulfilling. Even something more in tune with nature!

Professional sailing as an alternative

What other capabilities did I possess besides software and systems engineering? Well, being very practical I knew I could do almost anything working with my hands, so I had several options that I started to explore. However, I realized that most of my talents – solving practical problems, building and mending things, electrical engineering, electronics and software etc. all come together nicely in a sailing yacht charter business. A crewed charter business so that I get the chance to be sailing most of the time, not having to sit in an office.

As I had been sailing all my life, owning different types of boats, constantly upgrading in size, I started planning for getting the type of yacht needed for such a business. A prerequisite for this line of business was of course that I could talk my sweet wife into joining me in this venture. I am blessed with a beautiful and absolutely marvellous wife who shares my love for the sea and also the wish to work and live together 24/7. Furthermore, she brings to the table a long experience from healthcare working as a nurse in different capacities. A huge asset on board any charter yacht!

Finding the perfect yacht

So we started scanning the market for a suitable yacht while trying to sell the old one. We got the old yacht sold in september 2017, and were now able to start seriously considering what to buy.

It is interesting what makes you tick. A friend of mine, against whom I some years ago was competing in the X-99 class, has now for some years been running charter on a Swan 51. To me, having had a few X-yachts, which I liked, and then a Dehler 36 CWS, which I didn’t really like, I feel that these heavy old Swans, while certainly beautiful, aren’t quite nimble enough for my liking. Looking for something fast but not reckless, comfortable and spacious, even luxorious to some extent, our sights turned to the Beneteau First line of yachts. Having identified a number of potential yachts, we went to the UK to have a look first hand.