EP1: Starting Our Liveaboard Sailing Journey

Meet the Crew Behind Sailing Roam

Hi, and welcome to the very first episode of Sailing Roam!

We’re Geri and Shawn, a couple living full time aboard our catamaran. I’m Shawn, still working as a technologist, and Geri is a newly retired operating room nurse. Together, we made the decision to leave conventional life behind and embrace full-time cruising.

Why We Chose Liveaboard Sailing

We’ve always loved adventure, travel, and the ocean, and liveaboard sailing offered the perfect combination. Our goal is to explore the world at our own pace, simplify our lives, and experience the freedom that comes from being on the water.

Our Origin Story Teaser

Our story isn’t just about buying a boat — it’s about the nine months we spent selling, donating, or giving away nearly everything we owned: cars, land, businesses, and even our previous boat. Future episodes will dive deeper into our journey, but for now, you’ll get a peek at the start of this adventure.

Our New Sailboat – First Impressions

We recently purchased a 2013 Nautitech 542, 53 feet long and 28 feet wide — a true bluewater cruising catamaran. She has a full sail wardrobe, including a spinnaker, gennaker, genoa, and mainsail. We’ll explore the sails more as we figure out what we really need, including potential additions like a Code Zero or Parasailor.

Right away, we noticed things we’ll need to replace, such as the trampolines. But the space on deck is incredible, including a party-sized cockpit and a massive coach roof with built-in rain catchment and solar panels.

Cockpit and Helm Stations

• Twin helm stations with Raymarine electronics
• Room for both of us to navigate together
• Twin engines with inboard sail drives

Exterior Features

• Spacious seating for gatherings
• Hammock for vegetables or fruit during long crossings
• Swim steps and ladders for diving and water access

Inside the Boat – Salon, Galley & Navigation

Stepping inside, the salon features plenty of seating, a large dining table, and storage under every seat. Mechanical systems are conveniently tucked behind cushions for easy access.

Galley Features

• Three-burner stove with oven
• Large primary refrigerator and microwave
• Ample prep space and storage
• Dishwasher currently used for storage, may be replaced

We’ll also explore upgrades like induction cooking as we settle in.

Navigation Station & Office

• Forward-facing nav station with room for charts, radios, and gear
• Workspace for editing or working remotely
• Storage for nav and electronics equipment

Cabins, Heads & Storage

Our guest cabins feature queen-size beds, storage, and charging stations. There are freshwater electric heads with showers, and the master stateroom includes a comfortable queen bed, large head, and abundant storage.

Starboard Forward Cabin & Head

• Queen bed with sheets provided
• Storage cubbies for guests
• Spacious head and shower

Port Forepeak & Guest Spaces

• Multi-use storage area
• Additional workspace or office
• Extra sleeping options if needed

Master Cabin & Head

• Custom queen bed
• Large shower and freshwater head
• Plenty of room to move around comfortably

The boat has massive storage throughout, including lockers, drawers, pantries, and even two giant deep freezers. There’s room for supplies, tools, and everything needed for long-term cruising.

First Steps on Our Sailing Adventure

This episode is just the beginning. Next, we’ll empty the boat, clean it, and organize everything to make it our own. We’ll show the upgrades, purchases, and adjustments we make as we settle into cruising life.

Episode 1 - Watch the Video

Join Geri and Shawn in the very first episode of Sailing Roam as they begin their liveaboard sailing adventure aboard a 2013 Nautitech 542 catamaran. After spending months selling and donating nearly everything they own, they finally step aboard their new cruising home in Guatemala for the very first time.

In this episode, they give a first-look tour of the boat, including the cockpit, helm stations, salon, galley, cabins, heads, and storage spaces. They share initial impressions, point out what needs upgrading, and highlight the massive space that will support their future cruising life.

Whether you’re dreaming of full-time liveaboard life or just curious about cruising catamarans, this episode is packed with real-life insights, boat layout details, and the excitement of starting a new adventure.

Watch as their journey begins — and don’t forget to comment with questions for future episodes!

Next Episode Teaser

• Emptying lockers and storage
• Cleaning and prepping systems
• Organizing for our lifestyle and future upgrades
• Watch it here ➡️ Episode 2 - Roam goes on a diet

Join the Journey

If you have questions or want us to explore specific parts of the boat, leave a comment. We’ll cover your suggestions in upcoming videos. Don’t forget to subscribe, follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and leave your thoughts below!

📹 Episode Transcript

Below is a cleaned transcript of Episode 1 for accessibility and for readers who prefer to follow along in text.

Hi — thanks for joining us, and welcome to the very first episode of Sailing Roam.

My name is Geri, and I’m Shawn. We’re going to tell you a little bit about us. I’m still employed and working a day job as a technologist, and Geri is a newly retired operating room nurse. We’ll share more of our background in future episodes, but for now, we have some really exciting news to share.

We bought a sailboat.

She’s ours.

Over the last nine months or so, we’ve sold, donated, given away, or thrown out pretty much everything we own — including cars, land, businesses, and even our previous boat. All of that was in preparation for moving aboard our new-to-us bluewater sailing catamaran.

We’ll go into a lot more detail about that in future episodes and share more of our origin story — because everyone loves an origin story, and ours is pretty fun and a little ridiculous, like most people’s. For now, we’re going to give you a tour of the boat and show you what we’ve got.

Before we start, there’s something important to know. The previous owners literally left about three hours ago. They were moving back to France from the boat here in Guatemala, and things happened very quickly. When we sold our last boat, we had the luxury of moving off, emptying it completely, detailing it, and staging it. That wasn’t the case here.

They left with about ten pieces of luggage, and shipping things from Guatemala is astronomically expensive. So we really don’t know what we’re going to find inside. There may be food, clothes, linens — we haven’t opened anything yet. This is our first look, and you’re getting it with us.

This isn’t a pristine, staged yacht from a boat show. This is real life. A lot of sailing channels show beaches, sunsets, and cocktails. Some show more of the real and gritty side. We’re starting right out with real. This is what we’ve got, and this is what you’re going to see. So come take a walk with us.

The Boat

This is our new boat. She’s a 2013 Nautitech 542, 53 feet long and 28 feet wide — and pretty much everything we ever wanted in a cruising yacht.

She has a full sail wardrobe, including a spinnaker, gennaker, genoa, and mainsail. We’ll go into sails in much more detail later as we figure out what we actually need — maybe a Code Zero, maybe a Parasailor, maybe both.

Right away, there are things we know we’ll be replacing. The trampolines are on the list — I’m taking a risk walking on this one already. But look at the seating up here. You and fifteen of your closest friends could hang out and enjoy the view, watch dolphins, and cruise with us.

The coach roof is enormous — like a ballroom — and it has built-in rain catchment. The gutters are deep, and there’s flexible solar up here now, which we’ll likely replace with hard panels before leaving Guatemala. It’s a great platform to work with.

Helm Stations & Engine Room

At the stern, the boat has dual helm stations. Like most large catamarans, she’s twin-screw with inboard engines and sail drives. Let’s take a look at the engine room.

The engine room is surprisingly big. We have Yanmar 75s on each side, along with a generator. There’s enough room to get in here and actually work, even though lighting is something we’ll improve pretty quickly.

At the helm stations, we’ve got Raymarine electronics and dual engine controls on both sides. There’s room for both of us to sit together on long passages.

Cockpit & Exterior Spaces

The cockpit is party-sized — seriously. You could easily seat seven or eight people around the table, with even more seating nearby. There’s a large transom seat, massive storage everywhere, and even a hammock for vegetables and fruit on long crossings.

The transom design is a little unique, with a walkway behind the seat that will be incredibly useful for storage. The swim steps are huge and comfortable, with extra ladders that make getting in and out of the water easy — especially for diving, which we’re really looking forward to.

One thing we’ve already identified is the need for shade at the helm stations. That’s a future project we’ll cover later.

Inside the Boat

Let’s head inside.

Remember when we said the previous owners couldn’t take everything? This is what that looks like. There’s stuff here, and we’ll deal with it as we go.

One of our favorite spots already is a small seating area that’s apparently the best place to relax on passage when you’re not on watch — according to authoritative sources.

The salon has a massive table that could comfortably seat eight to ten people for dinner. There’s storage under every seat, and most of the mechanical systems live behind the cushions.

Galley & Navigation Station

The galley is incredible. There’s far more prep and workspace than we had on our previous boat — easily four times as much. There’s a microwave, primary refrigerator, sink, three-burner stove, oven, and tons of storage.

There’s also a dishwasher, which we suspect the previous owners used more for storage than dishes. We may replace it with something smaller down the road.

Forward of the galley is a large, forward-facing navigation station with plenty of space for charts, radios, and equipment. There’s even more storage here than we know what to do with yet.

Cabins, Heads & Storage

This boat has an incredible amount of storage. Forward on the starboard side is a forepeak space that looks like it was used mostly for tools. Moving aft, there’s a queen-size guest stateroom with storage and charging cubbies, followed by a head with a freshwater electric toilet and a surprisingly large shower.

In the companionway, there’s even more storage — plus a washing machine, which we’re extremely excited about — and an extra refrigerator stocked with avocados and beer.

Further aft are additional heads and staterooms, including one that looks like it may never have been used. On the port side, the forepeak is wide open and perfect for storage. There’s also a working space that will function as an office, editing area, or extra sleeping space if needed.

Moving aft on the port side, there are pantries, hanging lockers, drawers, and two massive deep freezers — complete with what looks like lobster inside.

Finally, we reach the master stateroom, which has a large berth, another head with a shower, and plenty of room to move around. At six-foot-one, Shawn fits comfortably — no cramping here.

Closing

This has been a crazy, emotional day for us. Getting a new boat is always exciting, but this one feels like an incredible platform for everything we want to do next.

The very next adventure is emptying everything off the boat, cleaning it up, and figuring out exactly what we have. We’ll show you all of it — the upgrades, the changes, the things we keep, and the things we let go.

If there’s anything you saw that you want us to take a closer look at, drop a comment below and we’ll cover it in an upcoming episode.

Thanks for joining us. If you liked what you saw, or want to see us get better, like and subscribe. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, leave a comment, and let us know what you think.

Thanks for coming — we’ll see you next time. Cheers.

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