How We Dared to Change Our Life and Sail the World as a Family

The Moment Everything Shifted

It all started with one regular conversation about the future, just another moment where we tried to understand what kind of life we wanted to build for our family. There was no intention to decide anything big, but somewhere in that conversation the dream of a boat, of being a sailing family, came up again, the same dream that had been there for years but we never really touched in a serious way. And in that moment, without any special reason, it suddenly felt right in a way it never had before.

Until then, we couldn’t bring ourselves to buy an apartment. We kept checking neighborhoods and parks, imagining a “normal” life in a place that would feel like home, but nothing connected. And somehow the idea of living on a boat, raising our kids while traveling and working remotely, gave us a sense of meaning and purpose that no apartment ever did.

That was the click. Not “maybe”, but “let’s do this”.

Why a Boat Made Sense

From there, the movement started. Not all at once, not with a perfect plan, just slowly shifting toward the life we wanted. We bought less, didn’t replace the car, started building the option to work remotely, joined sailing groups, learned about boats, routes and the liveaboard lifestyle. We began saying “when we move to the boat” instead of “if”.

And then came the Grand Cru.

It wasn’t our dream boat or the perfect price, but within four days of seeing the listing we had a purchase agreement, and within a month we had the ownership certificate. What had been a long-term dream suddenly became a five-month project of preparing for a full life transition: learning about homeschooling, teaching the kids to swim (or at least float, in the case of the little one who was three), figuring out insurance, planning routes, selling almost everything, packing the house, saying goodbye.

The responses from outside were everything: support, worry, “you’re crazy”, “it’s dangerous”, “what about the kids”. Everything came from love, but not always from understanding. No one saw what we saw from the inside, and they couldn’t. These were our lives, our motivation, our search for a different way to live.

The Movement Toward a New Life as a Sailing Family

And the fear didn’t disappear. You can’t imagine a new life before you live it. Not living on a boat, not parenting 24/7 in a tiny space, not working fully remotely, not the uncertainty of moving through the world without a fixed home. The change was huge. The unknown was very real.

Slowly, the house emptied. Every day something disappeared: furniture, toys, objects that had been part of our daily life. Until one day the house was completely empty. The car sold. Seven boxes shipped to France, eight suitcases packed. And the door closed for the last time.

That was the moment before the jump.

Until that moment we were just “like everyone else”, and after it people started calling us “brave”.

The Fear, the Doubts, and the Jump

So how did we really dare?

People ask us this more than anything else, and I always return to the same place: it wasn’t huge courage, and it wasn’t certainty. The courage was in one small moment of click. The rest was inertia.

Once we started moving - buying the boat, taking the courses, selling things, packing - the movement carried us forward. We didn’t need to be brave every second, only to keep taking the next step. The fears and doubts were there, but as long as we continued moving, they stayed in the background. It was only in the pauses, the moments when we stopped or heard opinions that tried to poke holes in the plan, that the doubts grew stronger.

And that’s the moment you need to watch carefully, the pause.

Plans don’t fall apart from lack of courage. They fall apart from lack of movement.

Inertia doesn’t appear on its own. You create the first movement, and then it takes over.

How Courage Actually Works

So yes, the decision is the daring part. But once you start moving, that’s inertia.

And how do you decide?

If this is the life you want to make real, if the timing fits and it feels like the pieces are falling into place - then go for it. It’s yours. Others don’t know your cards, don’t feel the push from inside, don’t hear the quiet voice that tells you where you need to go.

Start small - a list of tasks you want to figure out. Everything you don’t know goes on the list. And slowly you work through it like any project: study program, work setup, equipment, selling and packing the house, goodbyes and hugs.

And then comes the moment of the jump.

The moment when you know that from now on you’re relying on yourselves, and that you are responsible for the life you’re choosing.

It’s the scariest moment because the change is so big and so deep that you can’t imagine how it will feel. It’s the first moment you’re facing the unknown directly - living with the sense that you’re stepping into something you’ve never experienced, not knowing where you’ll be in a month, if you’ll continue or stop, if you’ll feel joy or regret.

It’s a very stressful moment.

But here too, inertia helps. Let it take away some of the fear of what comes next. Let it help you close one door so you can open a world.

Jump.

Courage is the moment we silence the doubts - not because doubt is bad, but because sometimes you need to put it aside, take a breath, whisper Silencio Bruno

and jump.