Will we, won't we?

Amy Kemp, husband James, their three kids, cockapoo, a violin, two dinghies, and a keyboard are about to set sail on their Farr 56 for a five-month adventure exploring the Norwegian fjords and the Swedish coast

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Ever since James and I first met, we have fantasised about going on some kind of boat-based adventure. Every time we go on holiday, we lament the fact we can't keep going for more weeks, months, even years. Every time one of our three children has a birthday, we express our horror at how fast they're growing up and wish we could spend more time with them. And all the many, many times our work-life balance has felt entirely out of whack, we've wished we could just get off the treadmill and go sailing.

Then Covid happened, followed by one geopolitical or economic crisis after another, one of our parents was taken prematurely by cancer; our eldest child approached 10... life is short. Suddenly we found ourselves in the headmaster’s office:

‘Has anyone ever taken a year off - could we?’

In the end we've negotiated one term of remote schooling, and all of a sudden we're racing towards an Easter departure and are planning for five months exploring the Norwegian fjords and the west coast of Sweden. We are beyond excited - I have to keep pinching myself to check it isn’t all a dream.