The Couple Sailing Around The World Together
So Sarah and I were classic office people, we would spend hours stuck in traffic as well as in front of the computer, we worked 70-80 hours a week all year round to then have just a few days of vacation. Until it got to a point where we realized we had had enough of the rat race. We decided to change our lives, follow our dreams and see where this would take us.
We found a sailing couple on Google that are liveabords and rent out the other cabins on their catamaran for people like us to experience their lifestyle. We loved it! Without any sailing experience, three months later we bought our sailboat. Six months later we quit our jobs and started our adventure to sail around the world. One year later we were crossing the Atlantic from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean, where we are right now.
We try to live a very frugal and sustainable life. Catch the fish and lobsters we eat, produce the energy and fresh water we consume and use as little fossil fuels we can. In this context the standup paddleboards are perfect for us.
A simple analogy is that for cruisers the sailboat is our house, the dinghy is our car and the SUPs are our bicycles. We try to use our SUPs the most we can. We currently have four ISLE Paddle Boards onboard and we use them for different reasons. They are a great exercise for our body and mind, they don’t use fossil fuels, they are great to explore, as they don’t scare away the marine life, they can go to really narrow canals as well as shallow waters. Also, they are lots of fun and they got amazing lifestyle written all over them.
The Megalodon
We try to take our dog to shore everyday for him to exercise and for us to have fun chasing after the jumpdy little clumsy beast. We like to use the Megalodon for that as it is very stable, we can go the three of us, and it is much easier to land on shore, mostly when there are small waves breaking through. Getting to shore with the dinghy when there are waves is a nightmare.
We also use the 15' Megalodon to take guests to shore, to do yoga sessions together, to shop for groceries or even to go to floating restaurants. It’s amazing. As we tie our ISLE Megalodon board to a dock, people that arrive with their dinghies, usually look at us as if we came from another planet.
Inflatable Paddle Boards
Inflatables SUPs are ideal for us as space is always an issue on boats. When we are out doing a crossing we usually roll them up and can easily store them away as they get very small. As soon as we get to a location they are easy to inflate and in no time we can have 3 SUPS ready to go explore the region. They are also very durable and anyone can ride them. We always have guests on board and we ask them to use the inflatable boards, this way we don’t have to worry too much about people hitting the boards on the side of the boat, being a soft material they don’t damage the board nor the boat. They usually also land on the beach with the fins scratching the sand and they remain in perfect rideable conditions. These boards can take up a lot, they are light, easy to inflate/deflate, awesome to ride and great fun.
Glider All Water
We also had a Glider All Water and now we have taken on the new 10'5 Versa model. This board looks great and riding it is a therapy for me. I can take our dog to shore, ride fun waves or just go out for a paddle with no destination, just to explore the new location we have arrived.
We have been living onboard for exactly one year now and we can’t imagine how people do this without SUPs. I guess it is like living in Hawaii and not having a surfboard or living in Colorado and not having a snowboard/ski or even living in New York and not having a smartphone. You can do it, but it is certainly not the same thing.
We love our ISLE SUPs, they are lot’s fun, durable, easy to travel and versatile for sure. However, more important, for us they are a lifestyle statement.
