As you’ve already assumed, FAYAWAY has now officially been signed away to new owners. We are very happy for them, to start their own new adventures.

Already I had started dismantling this blog. That’s because we had assumed we needed a new name for our next boat. However recently we learned the new owners shall retire and rename FAYAWAY.

Since eliminating one FAYAWAY avoids conflict with a potential overlap of names, we’re now reconsidering the naming scheme. Should we keep the name? E.g. FAYAWAY III. Or should we start something new? Perhaps use one of the many finalists we’ve been toying amongst? What do you think?

And now the race is on… construction has begun on a new boat. Our new home! You’ll probably not hear much from us until we’re actually aboard and doing something worth writing about. Well okay, perhaps a few posts about her construction, which certainly is part of our adventure, and this time is super special to us.

Reveal

And that time is NOW! Off we fly to western Turkey! New place with new friends!

After several flights and an overnight stay in Izmir, we were whisked away to the Seawind factory north of the city by our host and part-owner Kivanç. Yes, we have ordered a new custom-built Seawind 1170.

Seawind’s model 1170 has already won numerous awards, is relatively new for Seawind, with only a couple dozen built, and is the only model made at this new Turkish factory. Each one is built to order while working closely with each customer.

Simply seeing her hull being released from the molds, and beginning to take shape in person is pretty cool. But blundering to another part of the world to witness it adds oodles to the awesomeness!

Kivanç spent the better part of two days with us, touring the factory, witnessing various stages of construction climbing on and off of different vessels and essentially reviewing every detail of options available. He revealed a few also still in the trial bucket, but could be of interest.

By the end of the first day, and after winding down and discussing timelines, I implied that we’d be homeless again this summer when my Canadian work contract ends. Oh no! Showing some concern, Kivanç pointed out the office window to one boat nearing completion, and said that it was for stock. In other words it is an orphan and probably wouldn’t mind being adopted. He opened his laptop to find that it has almost the same options. Hmmm… Would we agree to delivery sooner if we can compromise on the options?

We agreed to ponder overnight and discuss further tomorrow. Time to find our hotel…

The following morning we met Kivanç at the marina near our hotel. After a fantastic Turkish breakfast we toured a couple more Seawind 1170’s that had been recently launched.

Yeni Foça: New (to us) place, new friends, new foods, oh my! Wandering around a new world in this little town.

At the cafe we reviewed and agreed to Kivanç’s carefully considered plan: Essentially we’ll not only be bumped ahead and moved up by two months, but also receive exactly the boat we want! Very cool.

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As I’m sitting here pecking on my phone, I realize that a year ago we never conceived of wandering around this small town, learning of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. I ponder further…

Aboard which boat, car, airplane or bicycle, and when and where you choose to ride it out, is your choice. We choose a boat. Strangely we usually have no idea, specifically where we’ll be a year or two ahead, but we simply strive to keep life interesting. Ok ok we do come up with plans, very loosely-goosey plans with alternative contingencies.

Moving On

If you’re not among the cruising live-aboard community, you probably won’t understand the nutritious life of adventure we survive on. You probably think we’re nuts. Fallen off the rocker? Bat$hit crazy? That’s ok. We sorta understand 🙂.

Time is the currency of our life—how we spend it defines our existence. – John Kretchmer

I’m sorry to keep using that quote, but it’s a good one.

Thanks for reading! Hug your loved ones!