“No one said it was going to be easy. But nobody told us it was going to be so much fun! My husband Bob and myself, and our 5 year old Aussie Mollie, have been living aboard our Antares 44-foot sailing catamaran Leap of Faith in the eastern Caribbean for the past two year.” – by Lynne Walsh
“After 25 years of competitive sailing in Australia, I sold the boat and hung up my competitive shoes. But loving the sea and messing about in boats, it wasn’t long before I started thinking about getting a boat to go cruising in.” – By Russ Creagh.
They weren’t sailors, but they had spirit, and they were ready for a big change. A new catamaran and a couple of continent later, they got all that and more.
“The clock was ticking, and vague notions of a winter home in Mexico weren’t quite cutting it. Canadians Craig Acott and Laurie Bowers knew that they were right on track. They saw retirement looming after Craig’s successful career as a geological consultant and mining engineer and Laurie’s fulfilling years as a teacher and principal. Self-avowed nature lovers, they’d made trips to scope out properties south of the U.S. border. But still. They weren’t sure, and nothing was grabbing at them.” – By Elaine Lembo
A couple takes their first sailboat on a 5,000 nautical mile journey from Argentina to St. Lucia, bringing their passion for fishing along for the ride. A month-long delivery trip up the South Atlantic that Shaun and Neil made on their new Antares 44i catamaran
The first leg was fast and furious; the second was filled with drama and tension as Escapade fought upwind for 11 days; and the third was a majestic climax that the crew dubbed “the best sail ever.”- By Shaun Sullivan.
Part II: Closing the gap on a seven year journey around the world.
Somewhere along the way we had lost our direction, or maybe I should say, we found our direction. We left Pensacola, Fla. aboard Miss Jody, our Antares 42 catamaran, on a six-month trip to Panama. Nearly five years later, we found ourselves in Phuket, Thailand waiting for the northeast monsoon season to make it possible to start our 4,000-mile trip to the Red Sea.- By Joanne Bush.
I would have never stepped aboard Miss Jody had I known we would end up sailing around the world. My husband Ron, a life-long sailor and racer convinced me to go cruising. Our plan was to sail as far as the San Blas Islands in Panama, with the caveat that I could always go home if I didn’t like it. I could jump ship and buy a bus ticket from the Florida Keys back to Pensacola, Fla., and it was relatively easy to return home from the Caribbean. – By Joanne Bush.
Sailing north on their new boat, a pair of cruisers stumble upon a true paradise.
They arrive around mid-morning. A solitary motorboat cruises in, then two, then a dozen. Soon there is a steady line approaching over the horizon. They anchor stern-to along the beach, rafted up three, four and five rows deep. Soon the music starts, a jumble of competing rhythms. The nearby floating bar and restaurant compete for business, delivering drink and food menus as they buzz around from boat to boat. It’s Saturday, and the Brazilians have come out to play. -by Gordon Moon
“Why not just go to the Bahamas like everyone else?” There was a definite tone of annoyance in his voice, and I can’t blame him. He was just as confounded as I was after a futile search for a cruising guide to French Guiana. – by Salwa Farah [
“The breeze brought relief to a warm day on the water in southern Florida, and as we sailed at 9.3 knots in 14 knots of steady wind, tracking a thunderstorm in the distance on radar, we looked at each other with grins on our faces, picturing ourselves in the same position with our girls in a couple of years, only on our own boat.” – by Ted and Jen Wallace
Chris and Erin are one of the original Antares Catamaran owners who, in 2006, began a journey to circumnavigate the globe. In the following five years, they sailed from Boston to the Caribbean, crossed the Panama Canal and into the South Pacific, traversed the Suez Canal and sailed the Med before heading back home. While they sailed, they documented their adventures in a fun and quirky way – inspiring many Antares owners to begin their own adventure.
While they have since moved on to other adventures, their website is still a great resource for inspiration, route planning and recipes!
Link to their website to find out more.
When Two Fish was launched in late 2013 and set out from the Argentine factory, Jason and Gail’s first mission was to sail to her home port in New York to show off at the Manhattan Yacht Club and enjoy a few bagels! While Two Fish did sail up to NY and beyond, her sights soon became greater, exploring many unique and uncharted destinations.
While they have since moved on to new adventures, their blog is an incredible resource for anyone living on a boat. It is packed full of useful information on what it takes to live aboard a catamaran, resolving technical and maintenance issues, and of course, insightful travel observations and writing about unique places around the world.
Read more about their adventures.
Ellen and Rand moved aboard their Antares in 2014 and have been on the adventure of a lifetime ever since (though we figure their lives have always been adventurous!). After spending time sailing the islands and the Caribbean, they crossed the Atlantic to sail in the Med. With a bigger vision to sail the globe, they crossed back and traversed the Panama Canal to sail the South Pacific. The one thing you should know about Rand and Ellen? They truly have a passion for the ocean and are great stewards.
The Golden Glow blog is a very useful resource for anyone looking for technical knowledge of the boat’s systems, equipment and various upgrades. That aside, it is also packed full of interesting travel information and facts about the regions travelled. There’s always something new to learn!
Margy and Monty moved aboard Whistler in the spring of 2015 and they started out where many sailor’s destinations culminate – in New Zealand!
“As we approached Savusavu Bay, a pod of dolphins, maybe 20 or 30, swam up and engaged us for a few miles, dancing in our bow wake. What a wonderful welcome to Fiji! It was June 13th, and we had logged about 1400NM in eight days and seven hours.” With their maiden voyage to Fiji, they set the tone for their adventures aboard their Antares Catamaran s/v Whistler.
The Whistler blog is filled with drool-worthy photography and inspiring destinations. It also logs the many decisions made before doing any passages and is a great resource for anyone planning on taking the leap and sailing in the South Pacific.
After selling their home in the UK in 2014, Audrie, Seathan and their two sons Tyrii and Aeneas started their adventure in Marmaris, Turkey where they spent a summer in the Med before crossing the Atlantic and spending some time recovering in the Caribbean. From there they sailed to Venezuela, the ABC-islands and the San Blas Islands in Panama and traversed the Panama Canal to enter the Pacific in April 2015. After completing their longest non-stop sail from Galapagos to the Marquesas (roughly 3,000 nautical miles and 18 days), they are now in the South Pacific.
The Rehua blog is fun and insightful as they share their knowledge with us on their travel destinations and sailing adventures with the boys.
This is the story of Sally & Peter from Toronto, Canada, throwing off the shackles of working life in a busy city. Peter is a life-long sailor and Sally married into it almost 30 years ago. With their children, now young adults, they loved chartering and gradually the cruising bug took hold. In 2015, they moved aboard their Antares Catamaran in Argentina and have been living aboard full-time ever since.
Milly’s blog is a fascinating look at the various destination. Sally’s keen eye for observing the unique and unusual, and her authentic voice is a pleasure to read. The blog is updated on a regular basis and shares great photography.
Read more about their adventures.
Ted, Jen, and their two daughters Katie and Grace started an adventure of a lifetime on their Antares sailing catamaran Ohana in the summer of 2018.
“After many years of planning and saving, we sold our home on land, left our jobs, and moved aboard our floating home in Argentina, where she was built. We are exploring countries and cultures around the world, and we can’t wait to share our adventures with you!”
Read more about their adventures aboard their Antares Catamaran as they discover new sights and learn about the world around them.
Glenn and Pamela embraced their love for sailing when they moved aboard their Antares Catamaran s/v Mira in October 2017.
“We were fast approaching the empty nest stage of life and I was taking stock of all our blessings – a great family, a circle of close friends, a rewarding career, a wonderful wife, and good health. While sharing a nice bottle of wine one evening, we got to talking about our new phase of life. Pamela said ‘We’ve talked about buying a sail boat for years. What are we waiting for?’ And so, we began plotting our course to becoming sailboat owners and blue water sailors.”
Meet Mark, Sarah and their two kids, Elizabeth & Michael – they began their adventure in Argentina in December 2011 when they moved aboard their Antares Catamaran 44i s/v Field Trip
“Many times, when we tell people our crazy plans, I can just see their minds wander to a faraway island, crystal clear waters, dolphins swimming, sun shining, Margarita in hand while Jimmy Buffet plays his sweet beach melodies…Oh, the cruising life.”
Read more about their adventures as they discover new sights aboard their Antares Catamaran sailing around the world.
We are frequently asked, “What is the displacement of your vessel?” It seems to be the question of the month and appears to have spilled over from the marketing of the hypothetical “ocean going trawler”, cast iron bathtubs presumably trumping canoes.
When the design was first being developed, a stability study was undertaken to establish some parameters to apply. The company always had a very close relationship with its customers and the prevailing philosophy demanded that the new boat could be handed over with confidence to its trusting owners.
The overabundance of opinion and baloney proliferating on the web makes me reluctant to participate in the melee but some limited commentary may assist our customers in assessing the true relevance to their own cruising catamaran experience.
If you want a boat with extended term cruising in mind, the galley requirements are a most serious issue. Ideally it should be a size to store not only a number of provisions but all of the utensils we expect to find in a modern home.
As a prospective live-aboard catamaran buyer, you have to make sure that the design you select is consistent with your particular cruising requirements. The tempered opinion that is frequently espoused in magazine articles intended to offend no advertiser may suggest that there is no particular right design for your usage, this isn’t true, and there is a variety of definitely wrong ones.
You really ought to get the steps right. We have personally witnessed three incidents of would-be boaters falling down the stairs of various creampuffs, not underway but at the boat show docks.
At what point did the design consensus decide that a truly enormous cockpit, originally designed to seat eight people for a cocktail/dinner party and fully open to the stern is suitable for an ocean voyaging vessel?
I can see how a deliberate ignorance of the first principles of marine design will get you noticed, but I always presumed that tarring and feathering would follow; Apparently not, nowadays you just get a prestigious Design Award.
Powered davits make it easy to raise the dingy, something that you must do on a daily basis.
Larger portlights provide better ventilation, something that is especially important in tropical environments.
A fully protected helm provides a warm, comfortable, dry environment no matter what the weather conditions are outside.
Corecell foam is a premium coring product we use on every Antares catamaran. It is far superior to balsa core used on most production boats.
Creating a beautiful cherry wood interior is a work of art, especially when weight matters, and each piece is hand made with Tricel Honeycomb panels.
A galley should be a kitchen on a live-aboard yacht, and not compromise space or safety.
Every Antares is equipped with premium components for all the systems – and the steering and autopilot systems are no exception.
Skegged rudders are critical for peace of mind cruising, especially when you travel to remote locations around the world.
