A COUPLE from Somerset quit their jobs to sail across the Atlantic Ocean and spent 25 days at sea as they tried to find an alternative way of living.

Bryony Palmer, a wilderness medicine specialist nurse from Taunton who had attended The Castle School, and husband/skipper Tony Palmer, an army veteran and electrician from Weston-super-Mare, sailed across the ocean last month (January 2024).

They started their journey from the Canaries in their 41ft steel boat built in 1989 to land in Martinique hoping to sail around the world and live off-grid.

The couple said: “In 2022 we quit our jobs and sold everything to move aboard and do the boat up ready to undertake sailing around the world.

“We unknowingly became part of the ‘young cruisers’ demographic, where people of pre-retirement age buy and live aboard their boat, seeking an alternative and environmentally friendly way of living and travel.

Somerset County Gazette: Tony during the navigationTony during the navigation (Image: Contributed)

“In June 2023 we sailed down to and around the Mediterranean Sea for the season, heading all the way to Greece before sailing back out again to the Canaries in December, ready for our big crossing.

“The passage took 25 days and was 3290nm, an extra 500nm than planned because we had to run further south to avoid a large tropical storm that suddenly developed.

“Underway we caught our own fish, baked bread and cakes, and documented whales, sunfish, Portuguese man o' war, sharks, dolphins, and seabird sightings as we went, alongside all the ocean plastic that we saw.

“Our first bit of plastic unfortunately was not long after we left; a large bit of black tarpaulin got caught around our propeller, so Tony had to jump into the ocean and dive under the boat with a knife to cut it off.

“We had a very gentle first 10 days with calm seas, but despite avoiding the tropical storm we were still caught in almost two weeks of heavy weather during the second half of the passage, with near-gale force winds.

“The boat was surfing down the waves, and many were breaking over us.

“We left from Gran Canaria, had to unexpectedly cut down south to below Cape Verde to avoid the storm and disturbed trade winds as a result, and landed in Martinique after 25 days at sea.”

Bryony said the first navigation was “really tough”.

Somerset County Gazette: Bryony on her boat during the journeyBryony on her boat during the journey (Image: Contributed)

Bryony and Tony often had to cover many nautical miles quickly, and factors including the UK not being in the Schengen area also affected their timetable.

Currently based in Martinique, they are using this time to rest and recover so they do not have to sail quickly.

Talking about their first navigation, Bryony also said: “We use a wind generator to produce electricity and we are very careful with water, it’s been very tough.

“We lost so much weight, and we are using this time to rest, recover, eat, and put some weight back on.”

Bryony and Tony intend to stay in the Caribbean for a year or two before starting their second navigation which may take them to South America.

They also document their adventures online, via their Cutterbove Sailing YouTube channel and Instagram, to show people what this lifestyle and offshore sailing is really like.

They added: “We highlight the good, the bad, and the scary - from freediving and exploring, amazing wildlife interactions, to lightning strikes and injuries at sea.

“We hope to inspire people, teach wilderness medicine, and demonstrate what a different lifestyle can be like.

“Our current plan is to sail around the Caribbean for the next year, living off-grid and seeing how self-sufficient we can become before sailing further afield again.”

Bryony also said: "We wouldn't change what we have done. It's been such an achievement. 

"We are feeling quite confident about the future. We want to inspire people to think outside the box rather than be preachy."