Where Is Spend Life Traveling's Sailboat?

Say what? Yes, I did it, I bought a sailboat!

I’d actually been saving money to do the ”sensible thing”. I was going to buy an apartment in Valencia, the Spanish city I’d been spending most of the past three years in.

But when I started looking at apartments, something just didn’t feel right. I don’t know if it was my budget, the city, or the timing, but I just couldn’t find an apartment I could actually see myself living in.

And did you know that for the same price as a one-bedroom apartment in Valencia you can actually buy a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom catamaran?!

So yeah, that’s what I did. I found a nice, 23 year old catamaran in the south of Spain and bought her with the idea of sailing her to the Caribbean (and perhaps beyond…).

Minor detail: I can’t actually sail!!

Thankfully a good friend of mine has been sailing most of his life and is a boatbuilder, so he’s really been the reason I’ve been able to start this crazy adventure.

I bought the catamaran in October 2020, we then spent 7 weeks working non-stop to get a boat that I thought was already in great condition (oh how little I knew about boats…) ready for an Atlantic crossing.

And then, our sailing adventure started!

No-Mad?

Yes, I named the boat No-Mad.

Why? Well, I thought it was a funny play-on-words: I’ve spent most of my adult life traveling and moving from country to country, so I’m definitely a bit of a nomad.

But, I’m also ”not mad” for buying a sailboat without knowing how to sail. Or am I? There have definitely been days I questioned my sanity!!

Where My Sailing Adventures Have Taken Me

Selfie of a blond woman standing on a catamaran with some other boats and palm trees in the background — The start of my sailing adventure

We first sailed to the Canary Islands, continued working on the boat there, and then finally sailed across the Atlantic, to Saint Lucia!

After more work on the boat and lots of sailing around Saint Lucia, we sailed to St Maarten for, unfortunately, some more repair work. Thankfully our time in St Maarten was quite enjoyable and the repair works went smoothly.

We then sailed to Grenada where we enjoyed almost three months of great sailing. Grenada is a great sailing destination!

A woman in a dark dress and gray cap looking towards anchored boats while standing on a sandy beach with a dinghy — Looking at my boat from a beautiful beach in Grenada

We continued our sail to Curaçao, where we spent three months sitting out hurricane season. We did some major work on the boat to further upgrade it and make it more and more comfortable as a long-term home.

And then we sailed to Panama! We spent three months here, and I have to say it’s been my favorite country to sail in so far. Panama just has so much to offer and such friendly people. Check out my Instagram highlighted stories to see what we did in Panama.

From Panama we had a tough sail to Honduras.

I briefly lived on the mainland of Honduras over 10 years ago. Its unsafe reputation back then I would say was somewhat justified. But, we didn’t go to the mainland and instead sailed around the Bay Islands, which actually turned out to be a great sailing destination! If you ever go here, make sure to visit several of the islands, and not just Roatan.

And then we continued our sail to Mexico. Unfortunately, the east coast of Mexico doesn’t offer a lot of anchorages, so we weren’t able to explore much by boat. It was still a nice visit though, spending most of our time in Isla Mujeres, with a visit to Cancun, Chichen Itza, and Playa del Carmen.

From Mexico we sailed to Cuba. Cuba is probably the most interesting country I’ve visited anywhere in the Caribbean! What a fascinating place!

I loved speaking to local people, learning a lot about what life in Cuba is like, and exploring part of the country by land.

From Cuba we sailed to the Bahamas. And while I loved Cuba because of its culture and history, the Bahamas is spectacular because of its natural beauty. And, I’d say the Bahamas, although an expensive destination, is without a doubt one of the best sailing destinations in the Caribbean!

Sailing Back Across the Atlantic

And with the Bahamas our time in the Caribbean came to an end.

Matt sailed No-Mad back across the Atlantic, to the Azores, while I spent some time catching up on work and arranging some boat parts we needed for the maintenance and upgrades on the boat.

And thankfully both Matt and No-Mad did well, even though they got hit by a tropical storm while sailing past Bermuda.

Aerial view of a coastal town, a marina and green hills — The beautiful Azores!

We spent five weeks exploring the Azores and fixing some minor things on the boat. The Azores were such a surprise! Green islands that at times reminded us of Ireland, but with the relaxed Portuguese lifestyle.

If you love hiking, whale watching, mild summer weather, local cheese and wine, plus incredibly friendly people, then I can highly recommend the Azores.

Sailing in the Mediterranean

From the Azores we sailed to Portugal.

After a few nice stops along the south coast of Portugal we headed to Morocco.

I know, not your standard sailing destination. But, Matt is British and can only stay in the Schengen area for 90 days at a time, so Morocco was a useful stop before continuing into the Mediterranean.

And although Morocco doesn’t attract a lot of international sailors, it’s a great destination to visit with a lot to offer. From coastal towns to historic cities, the desert, waterfalls and more.

After almost a month in Morocco we sailed along the coast of Spain, stopping at different anchorages, making our way to Valencia.

For the first time since owning the boat we’ve agreed to a long-term marina contract. I used to live in Valencia, so it feels nice the be ”home” again.

2 sailboats anchored off the coast and a woman on a paddleboard — Me on a paddleboard on the Costa Blanca, Spain

From Valencia we explored different parts of Spain by boat, in between work and some land-based travels.

And being back in Spain finally allowed me to show the boat to friends and family, and take some of them out on great day sails!

All Good Things Must Come to an End

A woman tying a dinghy to a tree on a sandy beach — Instead of parking my car I used to tie my dinghy to trees

Now, a bit of honesty here…

As much as these four years living on a boat will leave everlasting memories, at times it was tough!

Our boat was broken into three times, we sustained some serious damage after bad weather in the marina, and, as anyone who has ever owned a boat knows, work on a boat never ends! There’s always something that needs fixing.

So, after four years we decided it was time to sell the boat. Time to focus on other projects again.

It’s with very mixed emotions that we end this chapter. And we regularly find ourselves talking about “our future boat”, so who knows… But for now, back to living on land!

Are You Interested in Sailing or Living on a Boat?

I haven’t shared as much of my sailing life as I intended to (boat projects and sailing adventures often got in the way!), but I have written quite a few articles.

If you want to know more about sailing life or specific sailing destinations, check out my articles here: