CRICK LIFE'S CRACKING

New owners Jackie and Bruce Hair left Oz to pursue their dream

My search for a narrow boat took about 15 years. Well, not really. But a family narrow boat holiday with my brother and our young children became one of the most fun memories of my life and, although it never really seemed likely as I lived in Australia, after that trip I rather fancied myself as a liveaboard.

For years afterwards, I’d amuse myself downloading brochures of boats I considered suitable though, at that time, ‘suitable’ really only meant a nice paint job and a witty name.

When it came time to downsize the Perth family home after 30 years, constant cruising became less an idle fantasy and more a potential reality. With our only daughter finishing university, the timing was perfect. If not now, when? All we had to do to make this a reality was declare it. Once said out loud, events more or less overtook us. We sold our home, cars, furniture and everything else we owned and booked a one-way flight to England.

We drove a rental car to the brokerage whose brochures I’d amassed. It was October, the end of the cruising season with many boats for sale. Brochure photos reveal little about a boat. Some had musty odours, others irreconcilable layouts and many felt like claustrophobic caves. Were we to live comfortably on board, we’d need spend considerably more than anticipated.

Although we looked at many boats that week, we actually found La Suvera on the second day. We’d initially discounted her as being over-priced and beyond our budget. Not to mention having a wimpy name absent in humour. We reconsidered, made an offer, and five days later, we were moving on board with everything we owned in the world. Just like that!