Journey with Rob and Keira

Sailing into retirement has been Rob's dream for most of his adult life, and over the last 5 or so years I have made it my dream as well. We took baby steps to get here, sailing on small boats in Chicago and participating in a timeshare for a season gave me the exposure that I needed to know that I was fully on board.  We began the search for our dream boat understanding that every choice made has a tradeoff. Overall we knew we wanted a "Bluewater" (Ocean worthy)  boat that would be comfortable for us and have lots of storage. After considering  various boat makers we ended up choosing an Island Packet 38 due to its reputation for being a solid and seaworthy boat, checking all of Rob's safety requirements, and lots of storage and comfort features for me. The search was on and within the first year of looking we fell in love with Agape in Newport Rhode Island. We knew she was the boat for us the moment we set foot on her. She was for sale by owner which was much better for us than buying through a broker because now we are friends with the previous owners who we can call on whenever we have a question.  Agape means brotherly love or uconditional love, and it was the original name that lasted through the first 4 owners so we decided not to change it. We bought her in 2021 and haven't had one doubt that we made the right decision. We have made multiple upgrades  to make her our own but all along we have felt 100% at home on her. 

So now that Rob is finished working, this is our chance to chase this crazy dream of ours to see what we are made of and discover where we may end up going on this journey.  We have some ideas but also understand that there are many factors beyond our control. For now we are planning to get some more experience by heading out the Great Lakes, and down the East Coast to the Bahamas and after that we will figure out what is next.