A Tale of Yacht-Driven Family Freedom - Hannah Herne

Hannah Hern was born in New Zealand, educated in the UK, and working as a nurse when her husband James came home from a Southampton boat show with a poster and a question: Should we buy a yacht? Hannah's answer — "Only rich people have boats" — didn't quite stick.

In this episode, Hannah tells her side of the story: six years living aboard Carpe Diem on the Itchen River in all weathers (including snow on the deck and ice in the river), raising three young children in a 38-foot Bavaria while saving, learning to sail on Sundays, and quietly preparing for a life most people thought would never happen. Then in 2012, they sailed out of the UK and never looked back.

What followed was five and a half years circumnavigating the globe — crossing the Bay of Biscay, sailing down to St. Helena, across to Brazil, through the Pacific, and spending two and a half years in and out of New Zealand. Along the way, the family volunteered in Fiji after Cyclone Winston, spending three and a half months helping rebuild a primary school alongside a fleet of fellow cruisers. The kids were homeschooled throughout, and their youngest two can barely remember life before the ocean.

Hannah reflects honestly on the whole journey — the 24/7 togetherness, the lack of family support, the moments of "what on earth are we doing?" — and why, despite all of that, she'd do it again in a heartbeat. Now farming eight acres on St. Helena and supplying fresh produce to passing yachties, she's clear that the adventure isn't over yet.

Follow Hannah on

https://facebook.com/james.herne.2025

If you are visiting St Helena by yacht and would like to reach out to Hannah for services or guidance please contact them here too.

On Island, Hannah is at Gift Cottage Farm.

Transcript

Speaker 3 0:14

Welcome to Island Life Stories. I'm Darren, broadcasting from St. Helena, one of the most remote islands on the planet, and a place that has a funny way of pulling people back. Today, I'm speaking with Hannah Hearne. Hannah was born in New Zealand, educated in the UK, and by all accounts, was heading towards a fairly normal life: house, career, family. But then her husband, James, came back from a boat show with a poster and a question, and everything changed. What followed was six years of living on a 38-foot yacht on the Itchen River, learning to sail on Sundays, homeschooling three kids, and eventually sailing away from the UK entirely. Hannah and her family spent five and a half years circumnavigating the world, crossing the Atlantic, visiting Fiji after a cyclone to help rebuild a school, spending two and a half years in and out of New Zealand, before finally making their home here on St. Helena. It's a story about what's possible when you stop waiting for the right time and start building the life you actually want. Here's Hannah

Speaker 1:33

Life Stories. Thank you so much for coming on here- and speaking to us. It's all right. you've got a amazing story to tell. I know we spoke to your husband as well, James. but obviously you would've had a different start. W- tell us about your early years and what led up to this big decision you made.

Speaker 2 1:54

right back to Saint Helena?

Speaker 1:56

yeah. But, the beginnings of it all, 'cause J- James said he met you in the UK. what, what led you to... he went back to meet you in the- in the UK, but you met out here didn't you,

Speaker 2 2:04

so yeah, we, we met back up, in- 'Cause you're from New

Speaker 2:08

Zealand.

Speaker 2 2:09

Yeah, I am. if you go right back to that- born in New Zealand but did all of my education in the UK, right up to college and university and, in between... After college, I spent a year traveling, met James on Saint Helena. Ah,

Speaker 2:23

okay.

Speaker 2 2:23

random meeting all the way- Yeah on the other side of the world. It was meant to be, Darren. but, James came... I w- I returned to England, went to university, and James came back to England. if we start from there, On Christmas

Speaker 2:39

morning.

Speaker 2 2:40

Christmas morning. Christmas morning. Heathrow Airport. In the freezing cold. Ah. so yeah, James and I were in the UK together for 12 years, and in that time we got married. I, hooked him in 18 months after-

Speaker 2:54

meeting him. Yeah.

Speaker 2 2:55

to the day we were married and, we settled into life. I was still at university, and then I was working, I was nursing. James was doing carpentry, running a carpentry shop, and life was going on, It was good, but, you get to the point where you think, "Probably should invest in something. Are we gonna buy a house?" start a family, all that stuff. So we were in Bournemouth- Yeah at that time, and, we started looking at houses, and I'm a little bit nosy, like looking around, and we never quite found anything that we really loved. it's a big investment, it's a big decision to make- Looked around Bournemouth, looked around the south coast of the UK. looked a little bit further afield, to West Wales and, yeah, it was nice, but just not quite ticking the boxes. So

Speaker 3:43

you felt there wa- there was a, an itch to scratch then- but you wouldn't quite get into where you wanted to. Bearing in mind that James is

Speaker 2 3:49

from a little island in the South Atlantic. Yeah. I'm originally from New Zealand. My family's spread across the world, as his is. It's like just not quite sure if the UK is for us. and, a- about that time, James had happened to, go to a Southampton boat show.

Speaker 4:04

oh.

Speaker 2 4:05

Bearing in mind- Nice that sailing's in the blood. He came back and he had this poster. And he said, "Han," he said, "what do you think? Should we buy a yacht?" I'm like, "Only rich people have got boats, James." "Only... I don't know anything about sailing. I don't get seasick." Yeah. He went, "You'll be fine. You'll be fine."

Speaker 4:24

had you had any sailing experience prior to that? I've not any sai- No. No So

Speaker 2 4:27

I, my parents had a small powerboat as a child.

Speaker 4:30

Okay. I

Speaker 2 4:31

love the water. I can swim and I don't get seasick. Yeah. I tick the boxes for James. So I was completely naive. When I were looking around these yachts, I was, "Oh, that's a nice one. Ooh, what about that?" Yeah. Chatting, getting chatting to people. We had Josh by this point, so like a little one-year-old tottering around. I thought, "Are we gonna be able to do this? We buying a yacht. Buying a bo- a yacht. All right, we're gonna buy a yacht." We didn't have much time to process it. Within a year, we'd bought Carpe Diem.

Speaker 5:04

Yeah.

Speaker 2 5:04

Our Bavaria 38. and at the time, it was a big boat for us because there was just the three of us. It's three double cabins, nice space in it. I was like, "Oh, All right. But we're not going sailing yet, James, are we? This is just to live on, right?" Yeah. James did quite a lot of work to get it. it was great, but more of a cruising weekend boat rather than a liveaboard. Okay. And bearing in mind it's cold in England, so we had heating fitted and James did, lots of reinforcements. So did

Speaker 5:30

you live in it on, on, in the UK then for a period?

Speaker 2 5:32

Yep. Six years we lived on it. For si- you lived

Speaker 5:33

on it- so you lived on it while you were doing it out? Yeah. Okay. So

Speaker 2 5:36

it was livable but, James was reinforcing. We, we got some cosmetic things done, changed the furniture inside and, at the same time, he was polishing and, doing the... polishing all the decks and the hull. But repainted the bottom. we fitted an Eberspächer, which is a heating system. We fitted, solar panels, wind generators. lots more communication and tech in there, and it, we wanted to make it comfortable to live on board.

Speaker 6:02

Yeah

Speaker 2 6:03

we fitted more showers and that sort of stuff. bearing in mind that w- okay, we're not buying a house now, we've got a yacht. Okay, we're doing this. We're doing this. and then, baby number two came along. Okay. And then baby number three came along in that time. And, so we quick- So, so they

Speaker 6:17

all came along before you left the

Speaker 2 6:18

UK basically? Yeah. okay. Yeah. it was only Harley that we had on St. Helena.

Speaker 6:21

Oh,

Speaker 2 6:22

okay. so we quickly filled the space up. but no, we... The benefit of doing that and living on board, at the time it felt... 'Cause we lived in the Itchen River on board in the marina and out in the river. It felt crazy. We felt like we're the only crazy people doing this. a lot of people thought we were absolutely mad because you had iced up water in the river. Oh. You had snow on the deck. winter in, in the UK is- I take it there

Speaker 6:46

was nobody around you doing that e- at the same time, then? When you were- No, we met one other

Speaker 2 6:50

family- Oh, okay with, one little one- on board. and they didn't last that long either, No, so there was a lot of people around us going, "Oh yeah, I'm going to the Med next year." And then they were still sitting there and still sitting there. Whereas we'd made a plan, okay, we're gonna, we're gonna give ourselves six years. So we lived on board. Yeah. and we said, six years' time, this is what we're planning on doing." James told his employers, "Six years you've got me for, I'm going." "Oh, yeah, James. Oh Yeah. "Nice story. yeah." And, things evolved and things changed, but we ma- in that time, we managed the space. You get rid of all your stuff- Yeah that you don't need. as quickly as the children grew out of clothes, we passed them on. The toys no longer needed, you pass them on- because you need space for something else. James always had a rule about the amount of clothes we could have. A holdall each, so I had the biggest holdall. and then my stuff was popping out of that. But anyway, but no, I think actually that was part of the success story for us, is managing. So we managed the power on board, managed, the water capacity, 'cause at that time we didn't have a water maker. yeah, and just the spatial awareness and living in that- and it worked- because we're, oh, we couldn't wait to leave. I said having young babies, the laundry would dry. If we get to a warmer climate- Oh, yeah we can swim in the sea. You can enjoy being on the boat. Really in, in that period of time, it's more like being in a caravan. Yes. A floating caravan, Yeah. but we've met, since then we've met a lot of people that had literally sold up their house- Bought a boat, got as far as Gibraltar and we're selling up. Couldn't stand each other- Yeah don't want to see where we go Such a small space, you're not, you can't-

Speaker 8:27

Si- six years of doing it, more depth. Albeit more depth, but it's- so we- given you that chance to adapt to it already we had

Speaker 2 8:33

one, 'cause we were both working, so we, we were saving at the same time. So I would do night shifts and evening work, and James would work during the day.

Speaker 8:40

Yeah.

Speaker 2 8:41

So we always had a Sunday. That was our family day, and we'd go sailing every Sunday. Oh, okay. Yeah. So we were learning to sail at the same time- as managing the space and the kids and all the other com- commitments. And as time went on, Josh was the only one of school age by the time we were leaving. and it was, we were doing it, it was okay. We were getting the, the last marina we were in, the last mooring we had was out in the river, so every morning the school run was kids up, dressed, life jackets on, in the dinghy, across the river, into the marina, tie up, up into the car or walking, depending on the weather, to school. And that's a effort. James would al- James off to work at 7:00 o'clock in the morning, and he would be a dinghy ride that direction across. Oh, no. Yeah. No commuting. so that worked, but the schooling and the teachers didn't quite get our way of life, and we found that it was more stressful than benefiting Josh by being in the schooling system. Oh, okay. they just didn't get it. it is quite far out there. It's a completely different lifestyle. But there was one occasion where Josh, our oldest, went to school and said, "Oh yeah, I've been sailing to France for the weekend." And the teacher said, no, Josh, you haven't. Don't tell lies." "You live on a houseboat up the river."

Speaker 9:53

Yeah.

Speaker 2 9:53

So Josh was most upset, and he came home, and I went in school, I said, "Actually, we did go. We went to France for the weekend." "So we're back again, oh." Yeah. And a bit of tea. And I, a few things happened like that, and I just said to James, "You know what? We're gonna be homeschooling at the end of this anyway. It's part and parcel of the lifestyle of, cruising. Why don't we just make that decision now?"

Speaker 10:12

Sooner rather than- later. Yeah. So

Speaker 2 10:14

we, we joined a homeschooling c- small community, and that was great. and just, we did a bit of work at home and with some workbooks, and James and I have got educational background. And then we met up with other kids and did multi-sports and bits and pieces. Oh, yeah. yeah, it worked brilliantly, and it took all the pressure and stress off. and geared us up and prepared us for that way of- schooling and stuff when we'd left- as well. so when we eventually left, we left from the UK in 2012. headed straight to, straight across the Bi- Bay of Biscay, straight into La Coruña in Spain. and it just felt like this massive weight lifted off us. It was like- We could be together as a family. This is what we'd actually intended and set out to do. We were doing it. We're finally doing it. Yeah, it's

Speaker 10:59

finally happening. and

Speaker 2 11:01

six years is a blooming long time- of your life to prepare for that, but it worked- 'cause we'd already managed the boat space. The kids were already in a routine. Although, be it, they were tiny. Jacob was one, Sadie was two. But that was their home and their space, and they knew where they were, and they were comfortable with that. And so when we visited new places, it was like, "Oh yeah, this is fun. This is great. We're meeting new people." But we'd go back home, and it's familiar. Yeah.

Speaker 11:22

yeah.

Speaker 2 11:22

and if James and I had an off day where we go our separate spl- ways, and we knew how to manage that already. There was often, you rock up in a, in an harbor and one of us would be on the bow taking a few deep breaths.

Speaker 11:33

I wouldn't have been on it. One day I

Speaker 2 11:34

said to him, I said, "James, you know it's not normal for a husband and wife to be in each other's company 24/7, right?" "Oh, yeah. Yeah, you're right."

Speaker 11:43

But

Speaker 2 11:45

we did it, Darren. So yeah, we traveled, had you, at

Speaker 11:48

that point, already got your sort of, round the world route planned out, or- No you make it as you go? No.

Speaker 2 11:53

for the sort of the previous 12, 18 months, we'd looked at the original sort of sailing routes, weather patterns, and it didn't differ that much. The similar patterns were happening. Okay. There is a sa- there is a cruising time of year sailing route, that's pretty typical. obviously you can go against the rule and take other risks. but we'd we'd chatted to enough other cruisers. We'd come across, where James was working in the sailing world, we'd met quite a few people. and getting advice and chatting to different people about their different experiences, it's really good. Also, managing the space on board and storage ideas, and you just pick up all these little things. You think, "Oh yeah, that might work for us," or, And even about the amount of power and the solar panels on board. There's a lot of planning and preparation involved. and we spent time doing that. We didn't rush that. we did find that one of the things about staying in the UK as long as we did is, you're made to feel like you can't, you can't- You can't get that. You can't purchase those things anywhere else. No. You've got to get it before you go, or- Yeah you can't possibly get that fixed anywhere else. and that sort of attitude, which was a bit negative. But we quickly realized you've got a chandlery in every port. You've got people who know. there's cruisers all around the world. There's a network of- the community's- help everywhere. it, yeah, the, it's huge. and that was really, it was really nice. We met loads of other families with little kids- on board, and they were, a lot of them were doing the route from across the Atlantic. so they'd go across, down to the Canary Islands, across to the Caribbean for the season, and back again to do, a year. Oh,

Speaker 13:21

wow. Good, yeah.

Speaker 2 13:22

So when, When we got down to the Canary Islands, we were going a different route, 'cause we were coming to Saint Helena. And that was our plan. We had definitely planned that, because James hadn't been home at that time for 12 years. so it was, that was pretty special for him, coming home and seeing family and he wanted, the circumnavigation to start and end on Saint Helena. Oh, okay. Yeah. And I just thought, "You know what? Why not?"

Speaker 13:46

yeah.

Speaker 2 13:46

my family had all left England by the time we left. They'd all emigrated back to New Zealand. except for one brother. But, I just thought, why not?" Saint Helena's a beautiful place to live, and we hadn't really had long-term plans beyond what we were currently doing- yeah sailing. and it was pretty tempting, some of the places we went to, to stay. But James was like, "No, we're doing a circumnavigation now. We've gotta keep going." I was like, "Yep, all right." but no. so we went against the typical cruising routes- to come down to Saint Helena. We did, we went to the Canary Islands and then down to Cape Verde's, across the equator down to Ascension Island and down, to come down to Saint Helena. we spent nine months here catching up with family and friends. yeah, we, we worked a bit. The kids went to nursery, and just, hung out- with all the kids here and stuff, and just got into the life. We a- while we were here, we were actually look- we looked at a couple of properties and buying land, but we decided against it at that time. so we- You were

Speaker 14:38

already used to living on the boat anyway at that point, Yeah. But

Speaker 2 14:41

to invest is good, isn't it? yeah. and so we just thought, oh, is it, should we, shouldn't we not? And we decided not to then. perhaps we should've done. but we didn't. we'd planned to leave Saint Helena. we arrived December. we left the following October, and did the trip to, back to Ascension and across to Brazil.

Speaker 15:01

Oh, okay.

Speaker 2 15:01

and it was just great. all right, the weather's not always with you, and you get a bit of uncomfortable seas and stuff. But just being together, Darren. Honestly, just being with the kids when they're little and just cherishing that time and- And creating

Speaker 15:14

memories for the kids- as well, don't you?

Speaker 2 15:16

I'd do it again in an instant. there were some times I thought, "What the heck are we doing?"

Speaker 15:21

did you find it diffic- more difficult as the kids got older because the space was getting less and less? Or did you find it easier because they were able to look after themselves a bit?

Speaker 2 15:29

Yeah, they're a little bit more independent. And they understood a little bit more about where we were, what we were doing. Oh, okay. so Sage and Jacob now are 15 and 16, and they will say they don't really remember anything from the UK until we got to New Zealand.

Speaker 15:41

Ah, Okay. there's a

Speaker 2 15:42

big chunk. And you can understand that from the age of one. so- Yeah, for them, their real memories start... they look at the photographs and stuff, but- the real memories start in New Zealand. And the Pacific was amazing- traveling through there. So they went to school again for a few months in New Zealand, just in between the seasons. Part of that is 'cause I really wanted them to learn a bit of Maori culture, understand a little bit of where mummy's from. Oh, yeah. Of course. and they have dual nationality, so it was important for them to understand. they're still little at this stage, but this is, this could be home for you if you wanted it when you're older and- Yeah but we, when we got to New Zealand, that's a big jump there. But we spent two and a half years in and out of New Zealand. We, Oh, Okay with this, with the cruising route, you go to New Zealand in the summer, and you go out to the islands in the Pacific in the winter, 'cause you've got your hurricane season- to cyclone seasons. so there's a little bit less risk. and you have the best of both weathers and yeah. so we, we did some volunteering in Fiji after a cyclone. We built a school there and with a team of people. Oh, wow. So we did, we did some meaningful things. the sailing was great and, we feel like we didn't too, do too bad with the homeschooling.

Speaker 16:56

I think you've done fabulously well with the homeschooling.

Speaker 2 16:58

But, that, that was all brilliant. we didn't really have our family support with any of that. No. It was too far out of the norm for them- yeah to get it, and that was pretty challenging for us. But we thought, we're out here. we're living off-grid. We're leaving a very small carbon footprint, and we tried to gauge that with the kids as well. This is such a healthy lifestyle in- Yeah in so many ways. Let's try and do something to help somebody else.

Speaker 17:21

Yeah.

Speaker 2 17:22

And in 2016, Cyclone Winston hit Fiji. completely flattened some of the schools and some of the smaller communities, and it was really devastating- for some of the families. in their culture and environment, they get used to it because they're in, right in the hurricane zones- In the sea, yeah and they get used to this kind of way of living that, it might hit us and we might have to... but this one was pretty devastating. so we, a company called, Sea Mercy, based out of America, they, originally it was like medical healthcare that they would, see to the islands, but they really sought the support of yachties because you're self-sustaining. You're not gonna be taking- Oh, of course. yeah anything away from those communities. You've got your own amenities on board- Yeah your own food, everything. so it was a whole group of boats that went from New Zealand.

Speaker 18:08

so a cry for help went out- and she was, I mean- So, the yachting community responded all the rebuild

Speaker 2 18:12

was funded through Tire Power, which is, Big company in Australia. and that funding was sought through Sea Mercy. and we had 30, 30 cruisers come through in that three and a half months. Yeah. Just give a couple of weeks, couple of months of their time, whatever skills they had- to support in the rebuild of this little primary school. we've had friends go back and revisit and see them- and see the families. But you become part of the community if you're staying for that amount of time. yeah, of course you would. The kids went to school for the first day of reopening. Aw, lovely. Sadie did a little dance when they did the Mecca dance when we left and stuff, joined in with the kids. And it's really nice. Just something that's like- Yeah completely out of the norm. You're not gonna get this opportunity- No, I'm not every day of the week. so we've got... We've made some really lovely memories with the kids for that. It's

Speaker 18:56

good for the soul as well, isn't it? It is. That, thinking- Got that

Speaker 2 18:58

feel-good factor. yeah.

Speaker 19:00

mentally it isn't it? it's something you're- Yeah you're contributing something really positive there, isn't it? C-

Speaker 2 19:05

definitely. Yeah. and a lot of people don't understand that, And my sister-in-law at one point, she was like, "Oh, that's a really nice thing to do. Why on earth would you wanna do it, though?"

Speaker 19:14

Oh,

Speaker 2 19:15

so- Yeah it's a shame you don't get the same positive reactions all of the time, but that's okay. we've done it as a family and, made those really nice connections with people.

Speaker 19:25

Yeah.

Speaker 2 19:26

we've still got cruising friends, who are still out there cruising. We did five and a half years, and- that was too short. and, people are still coming through, past Saint Helena, popping by. "Is Hannah and James here?" Oh, yeah. You don't meet many Saint Helenians, so they will remember James. They come ashore looking for James. Which

Speaker 19:41

is

Speaker 2 19:42

really special.

Speaker 19:43

and funnily enough, that... I take it that ties in with the farm we're in now- as well, isn't it? Because you're able to supply-

Speaker 2 19:49

Yes these

Speaker 19:50

yachties with-

Speaker 2 19:51

Yeah, absolutely fresh,

Speaker 19:52

lovely fresh produce. So we,

Speaker 2 19:53

we actually advertised ourselves as Saint Helena Yacht Services before we got back to Saint Helena- to support visiting yachties with any services they needed, yacht repairs, engine part, that sort of stuff. And it worked. It worked really well. but unfortunately, there's local issues with other, business operators, and it became a little bit too challenging for us, so-

Speaker 20:13

too political.

Speaker 2 20:14

Yeah. we still con- we do it from a distance if people, have got our connecti- our contacts, and they want a bit of help- Okay we're more than happy to help. But word's traveled through this cruising community that if you come to Saint Helena, look for James and Hannah, they've got fresh fruit and

Speaker 20:26

veg.

Speaker 2 20:27

So the people put their order in advance- Oh, that's good before they get here through WhatsApp and, or an email. "We're coming on this date. We want whatever fresh you've got- to get us to Brazil." But that's nice- too, Darren. We know what it's like. Oh. We know what- cruising's and getting anything fresh, is a treat, so when you're at sea. so yeah, no, it's been really lovely. And one of the biggest fears that James and I had that is that we would put the kids off, and it would, "Ugh, I... Don't ever put me on a yacht again. I don't want to do it." Yeah. And we haven't.

Speaker 20:57

Far from it.

Speaker 2 20:58

They can't wait to go sailing again. "When are we going? When are we going on the yacht?" "Don't you ever sell the yacht. It's ours." Yeah. So that's a real positive as well.

Speaker 21:10

do you have any plans of going off again for a particularly long period? We would

Speaker 2 21:14

absolutely love to go and do long t- long-term cruising again. How that fits in with having the farm, I'm not quite sure at this stage. Our youngest daughter, Halle, who's born on St. Helena, would absolutely love to do some sailing. so we have thought it would be nice to take her to South Africa, on the yacht with the rest of the family.

Speaker 21:32

Yeah.

Speaker 2 21:32

it's, it's the closest point of land, and it's nice to go and visit. It's a beautiful country. so we would like to do that in the next couple of years, yeah.

Speaker 21:41

it's getting a system established here now to make sure that this is being looked after- Yes while you're away, basically. Yes.

Speaker 2 21:48

And the- we have got a bit of work to do, with maintaining the yacht now. It's sitting out in the harbor. But when you're working hard on land- Oh, and not using it, then you've got that maintenance to do as well. yeah. but we would absolutely love to do that. and it is great that the kids still enjoy it.

Speaker 22:01

Oh, That's brilliant. Is there anything you think you would or should have done differently looking back i- in that experience or somewhere even that you wish you'd visited and you didn't, or is there anything that you- We left

Speaker 2 22:13

a lot... We left quite a few gaps in the places that we visited, because we thought, we're gonna do this again." Oh, okay. We loved it so much. Yeah. and we thought, "Okay, we'll wait until the kids are a bit older and they can remember the experiences." Yeah. and our kids is in the middle of their exams and GCSEs now, so it's a time to be staying put. but maybe when they've finished. so we didn't do any of Indonesia, Asia. We didn't visit any of the, any of those countries. and that's something the kids would really love to do. Yeah. in terms of doing anything differently, oh- I'm sure there is. Right now, I can't really think of anything- If you're struggling to think of it- there's probably

Speaker 22:52

not a lot you would've done.

Speaker 2 22:52

I think- there's a lot of positives- about the way we went. it felt absolutely crazy at the time. But spending that amount of time, preparing ourselves- with the kids as a family before we left was the real deal breaker for us. That was, like, the right thing to do. we pushed on to get back to Saint Helena in the time that we did, like I said, five and a half years, because Josh was 14 and we wanted him to get into secondary school- and get settled before the exams started, and that worked. Yeah he's done well. we knew there'd be some gaps in our teaching. so just giving him about that bit of time just to- settle and get back in. so no, I don't, I can't think of anything- No major,

Speaker 23:31

That's a good thing. That's a good thing.

Speaker 2 23:33

Yeah, no, it, everything... It was meant to be, wasn't it? I think, We're still here telling the story. Ah. We're still together. We're still... So no, it is good. The, honestly,

Speaker 23:44

the family, the kids, everybody's so happy, and it's just- it's just a testament to everything you've done, I think. I think it's

Speaker 2 23:51

amazing. It is. Absolutely amazing. It is amazing. I still pinch myself. I can't believe

Speaker 23:57

we've- really done that. But, And do you think you could've... we were talking to James earlier, we... That, that sort of point in the UK where you were looking for property, but ended up going for a boat. Boat. Things could have worked out so differently- Yeah, absolutely if you'd gone that way. Yeah. there, there was that turning point, wasn't it, the- So

Speaker 2 24:10

we, at one point, we rented a property off my parents, and, it's been only this year I said to James, we could have easily bought that property," 'cause they were n- they weren't in the country.

Speaker 24:20

Yeah.

Speaker 2 24:21

We could have so easily bought that property and, done it up and whatever. but we were so dead set on, we're gonna save and buy this yacht now. This is what we're gonna do, and this is the plan. And okay, we changed ideas about which yacht and what size, and that kind of stuff, but the idea of still buying that yacht was there.

Speaker 24:39

Yeah.

Speaker 2 24:40

I know. life for the kids could have been quite different. I know. it's amazing the life decisions we make and where it sends us, isn't it? And I don't think, it's finished yet. Oh, no. No. I think we've still got adventures to have. We're not quite sure how, what it looks like right now. But, we've got, that travel in our blood. yeah. so Although Saint Helena's beautiful, and I'll always call it home, I think we're not quite ready just to- hang up the- Plenty more chapters left in the story. yeah, definitely. And Hallie's six, so she's still young and needs some adventures.

Speaker 25:12

Yeah.

Speaker 2 25:12

so yeah. No, definitely.

Speaker 25:15

That's amazing. Thank you so much, Anna. Thank you for sharing your story with us.

Speaker 2 25:18

That's all right, Darren.