Shiloh is a dedication, a dream, a reincarnation, a protector. To sum it up, she is many things to us. Much more than a boat.
She was at once carefully chosen and serendipitous.
When my precious six year old son died suddenly in 2005, our simple, happy lives were shattered and needed to be rebuilt with a dream. We had been discussing and arm chair deliberating about a retirement/exit plan from our expatriate lives, and sailing was always firmly on the table as a workable idea – especially for JW, my partner and the sailor of the two of us.
Shiloh’s death shook us to the core. I realised life was fragile and too short to waste dreaming. So a year later, after pouring our hearts and minds into research and planning, we came to Tortola to find ourselves a boat to carry us toward our dream of living life to the fullest.
We chose a catamaran for it’s beauty, relative spaciousness, bright, light airy interior, reliability and stability at anchorage. We were never going to be in the Volvo Ocean race, we agreed we would never be in a huge rush. We’d sail slowly, in our own time, to wherever our fantasies would take us.
We chose a French Cat, a Lagoon 410, after touring many other brands and boat sizes. They are made in the same factory as the well known and respected Beneteau mono hulls. They are gorgeous boats. We toured many others in our price range and were never swayed.
We bought her from Moorings – a company that charters boats, typically for the first 3 years of their lives, then sells them off for their owners. Our plan was to sail her 700km south to the island of Grenada, where she would join another Charter fleet – at Horizon Yacht Charter – until the day came when we were ready to take her over and make her home.
As soon as we took ownership, there was no question what would be her name – SHILOH was christened with a bottle of Amstel Malta, in honour of her namesake’s favourite drink. A few tears were shed and then we celebrated.
Shiloh motor sailed beautifully – with the wind on our nose throughout the trip – all the way from Tortola to Grenada. She was well maintained and sailed well for over 4 years in the Horizon fleet – and today she is back with us and our journey together has begun!
Some photos of Shiloh:
Lagoon's website can be found here.
When my precious six year old son died suddenly in 2005, our simple, happy lives were shattered and needed to be rebuilt with a dream. We had been discussing and arm chair deliberating about a retirement/exit plan from our expatriate lives, and sailing was always firmly on the table as a workable idea – especially for JW, my partner and the sailor of the two of us.
Shiloh’s death shook us to the core. I realised life was fragile and too short to waste dreaming. So a year later, after pouring our hearts and minds into research and planning, we came to Tortola to find ourselves a boat to carry us toward our dream of living life to the fullest.
We chose a catamaran for it’s beauty, relative spaciousness, bright, light airy interior, reliability and stability at anchorage. We were never going to be in the Volvo Ocean race, we agreed we would never be in a huge rush. We’d sail slowly, in our own time, to wherever our fantasies would take us.
We chose a French Cat, a Lagoon 410, after touring many other brands and boat sizes. They are made in the same factory as the well known and respected Beneteau mono hulls. They are gorgeous boats. We toured many others in our price range and were never swayed.
We bought her from Moorings – a company that charters boats, typically for the first 3 years of their lives, then sells them off for their owners. Our plan was to sail her 700km south to the island of Grenada, where she would join another Charter fleet – at Horizon Yacht Charter – until the day came when we were ready to take her over and make her home.
As soon as we took ownership, there was no question what would be her name – SHILOH was christened with a bottle of Amstel Malta, in honour of her namesake’s favourite drink. A few tears were shed and then we celebrated.
Shiloh motor sailed beautifully – with the wind on our nose throughout the trip – all the way from Tortola to Grenada. She was well maintained and sailed well for over 4 years in the Horizon fleet – and today she is back with us and our journey together has begun!
Some photos of Shiloh:
Lagoon's website can be found here.
Great share!
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of sailing yacht you have chosen that can really make the difference in your experience. While choosing it make sure you have excellent knowledge about it.
keep sharing!!