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The story of how Jamie and Liz met is a charming one, and it’s what makes this web site so special. This isn’t just a sailing blog you are reading, this is the story of two people who met, fell in love and went to sea to spend the rest of their days together. Remember, neither had any previous sailing experience.
[dropcap]J[/dropcap]amie had quit his own company to go travelling and in his head he got the idea that he must cross the Atlantic by boat. Working his way from the UK this he did, arriving in Antigua in December 2004. At the same time Liz, who was a high-flying, hard-working sales director for a silk production company, was taking a break with her friend Steve in Antigua for the Christmas and New year period.
On Christmas Day in English Harbour, amongst the loud soca bands, merry faces and dinghies full of ice and bubbly, Jamie sat down next to Steve and got chatting. (This was purely by accident since Jamie almost slept through Christmas day due to some heavy partying the night before!) Whilst this was happening Liz was making her way out from the sea, having gone for a dip fully clothed. She approached Jamie and Steve, sopping wet and hair bedraggled (but looking rather comely at the same time), introduced herself to Jamie and spat a mouthful of beer in his face. Bear in mind Liz was inebriated and Jamie was stone-cold sober, but this clearly had the desired effect as five minutes later they were a ‘couple’ and spent the rest of their time in Antigua inseparable!
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When Liz eventually returned to the UK Jamie was a lost soul. He got as far as St Lucia but there he received news that his grandfather had just died and so a return trip to England was imminent. He called Liz and she got him on the next flight out and, at five in the morning, met him off the plane at Heathrow Airport. He moved in with Liz on that day, just three weeks after meeting each other.
Tired and burned out, Liz was determined to exit the rat race. Disillusioned and lost, Jamie wanted to return to his new-found love of sailing. Together they hatched a plan to buy a boat, quit London and travel together. This plan evolved within one month of knowing each other.
Within nine months of meeting Liz and Jamie bought Esper, based in Bodrum, Turkey.
Within eighteen months they had sold Liz’s house, and purchased their own flat to do up and rent out.
Within three years they left the UK altogether to live on Esper in Turkey.
Seven years on and they are now in Malaysia, having sailed down the Red Sea, across the Arabian Sea to India, onto the Maldives, down to the Equator and across the Indian Ocean to Langkawi.
For Liz and Jamie this is a personal odyssey, and a private one at that. You are invited to share their stories, laugh at their mistakes, be entertained by the pictures and follow their progress. Whilst there is a beginning, there is no middle or end to this story and what you are reading is an evolving journey, written in real-time.
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