After saving and planning for many years, Thomas found a boat that would sail him safely across the oceans to exotic destinations. Technically, it wasn’t Thomas who found the boat, but rather Conrad, a friend of Thomas’ who he’d met during some boat charters in the Caribbean. Travel had always been important to Thomas and the thought of a world tour packing suitcases and checking in and out of hotels was far from being an ideal way to explore the planet. He needed an alternative. It was decided that sailing would be his preferred method of travel. He would have his own place. No packing, flights to catch or hotels to book and find his way to. So, the idea was planted years before and Thomas made ready for his journey by saving, learning more about sailing, (he’d only windsurfed and done some sailing in his childhood and during his teens), and hiring Conrad as a consultant to find and prepare a yacht.
Initially, he had planned on traveling with his companion of 20 years, but things changed, as they often do in life and he found himself alone with his dreamboat. His first impression of Qi, was not that of a dreamboat as he’d imagined something more streamline and racy. Conrad convinced him that this boat was a strong Dutch design with a good pedigree that would be reliable in most ocean conditions. It didn’t take him long to fall in love with the possibilities and the impending world tour. It was a few months before he’d finalised his house and moved onto Qi with only a few boxes of belongings that represented what he’d accumulated in his 48 years of life and wished to carry forward. Working out how he was going to do this tour on his own, in this large boat, was going to work itself out. He knew it would.
Preparations in Mallorca, where the boat had been left unattended for four years at least, proved an enjoyable respite from his role as CEO at his software company. After sitting in front of the computer developing software for years, cleaning hulls, fixing motors, learning to sail Qi and enjoying the serenity of the yacht club in Palma, Mallorca, was a welcome change of pace. He hired skippers to help him learn the finer points of manoeuvring Qi in the problematic berths in the marina. He found crew and company through the website Find a Crew and enjoyed the company of friends and family visiting as he prepared for his ocean crossings. One part of his preparations was to sail to Malta to collect some sails that he’d order from Thailand. This journey would prove to set the scene for his forthcoming adventure.
Specifications of Qi
Qi named for the energies of life
A winged keeled Contest 46 (+an after-market bathing platform making the boat length 47 metres)
Made in the Netherlands in 1989 by the company Conyplex, (the factory burned down sometime before he’d bought Qi)
Fibreglass hull
2 cabins – 1 forward, 1 aft
Centre cockpit
