I am a planner and go-getter. I believe in making things happen. But I also believe in giving life room to unfold in ways you hadn’t planned or even foreseen. “Let life take you” is what I started calling that mindset, coaching the kids, mostly Anika who is as much of a planner and control freak as I am, to listen to life’s hints and open invitations and jumping on them when they feel right.

Now we are about to “let life take us”. Anika is in her second year in college in the Netherlands and Krissi about to graduate high school and move to Japan for a gap year and internship before college in Germany. It’s getting a little lonely in the house and we a bit bored by our routine and how we live our relationship. We need change and a new challenge. My career switch into venture capital has been an amazing learning experience. But the tech industry just went through a massive market correction and things are just too slow for me and the time has come to do a reset after six years. But it is also not the best time to look for a new job.

That was the state of play when she found us. She? Yes, “she” is a boat and she found us, not the other way round. Sitting in my office some Sunday night a few weeks ago she was suddenly there. The perfect boat. The brand and model I always wanted, younger than most the other boats, in perfect condition with her current owner having put a lot of effort and money into an extensive refit. And all the key attributes we always talked about: blue water capable, center cockpit, cutter rigged, furling sails and electric winches, blue hull, teal deck, … and the list goes on.

We hadn’t talked about sailing for a while and Karin was a bit surprised when I showed her. But she was also immediately hooked. “Let’s buy her. Let’s just do it!” Often I am the driver. Now it is Karin. I love it.

Long story short, we made an offer and negotiated a price. Not cheap but she is exceptional. This comes a little unexpected and earlier than we’d thought. But the more we talk about it, the more sense it makes: perfect boat, perfect location, perfect timing. Let life take you!

So now we are on a flight to St Maarten in the Caribbean and Friday is sea trial and professional marine survey. Then we have a week to make a decision. She’s ours if we want her.

If we pull the trigger, we’ll do another six months sabbatical starting in October, cruising the Caribbean islands, just Karin and I and hopefully the kids visiting for Christmas or whenever it suits their schedules. Maybe some family and friends too?

After that the tech market should have improved and I will take on my next career challenge. At least that’s the operating assumption.

What’s not to like? We shall see. Fingers crossed.