One Stop… That Turned Into a Year ⚓

When we first bought the boat, we were still up in Suffolk, not far from home. But the marina we bought her from — Suffolk Yacht Harbour — didn’t have space for a boat our size. We tried a couple of other places nearby, but kept hitting the same problem.

In the end, Adrian’s uncle Paul came to the rescue.

At that point we were still figuring out how this whole liveaboard thing actually worked in practice. If you’re new to it, this guide covers the basics: How to Live on a Boat in the UK

He keeps his boat down in Brightlingsea at Morgan Marine and mentioned there might be some space — so we headed down… and somehow ended up staying a whole year.

It’s actually been such a lovely place to land.

Having Uncle Paul here has been great — we’ve been out on his boat lots, which has been amazing for building confidence and just getting out on the water more.

Life here has been pretty simple. Lots of walks, lots of pottering on the boat, and just settling into a slower pace. It was also our first proper taste of what day-to-day life on a boat actually feels like. We wrote more about that here: Our First Month Living Aboard a Sailboat

It’s also where we started to realise what boat life actually costs day-to-day. If you’re curious what that looks like in real numbers: Cost of Living on a Sailboat in the UK

Luna has… adapted 😅 The marina is quite lively, so she’s more of a night-time explorer these days. Not quite the carefree roaming she had before, but she’s definitely still herself — and every now and then we get a reminder of her favourite hobby when she turns up very pleased with a successful hunt 🙃 (… there was also one slightly chaotic oil gate incident, which we’re choosing to laugh about now)

If you’re wondering how cats actually adapt to boat life, we’ve shared more about that here: Essential Tips for Living Aboard With Your Cat

Everyone in Brightlingsea has been so friendly and welcoming, which made it really easy to feel at home. And somehow, without really planning it, we ended up doing some big life moments here too. We spent Christmas on the boat, Adrian’s girls came to visit, and I even had my 40th here — which feels pretty special looking back.

The marina does dry out, which has definitely been… a learning curve 😅 but overall it’s been such a good place for us to settle in properly and ease into this whole liveaboard life.

That said, we’re definitely ready for the next chapter now — deeper water, a bit more freedom, and seeing where we end up next.

Next stop: anchoring out in Pyefleet! ⚓