Couple sell house to sail yacht in retirement

The couple left Portishead in May and are not planning to return

A couple who sold their house to spend their retirement sailing around the world in a yacht say they have no regrets.

Debbie and Stephen Webb, formerly from Portishead, north Somerset, met online in 2005.

They used their savings to restore a yacht, called T-Shanti, and decided to live out their retirement at sea.

"We're very dependent on each other. We each have different skills that we bring to making life on the boat safe and enjoyable, and it's wonderful to not be tied," Ms Webb said.

After the Covid-19 pandemic, the couple moved out of their four-bedroom house and have lived on T-Shanti for five years.

Mr Webb stopped working earlier this year after selling his business, while his wife quit her job in accountancy.

"We left on May 18th and we've been on the move every single day," he told BBC Radio Bristol.

He said most of their friends and family have supported their desire to retire at sea.

"My father was absolutely enchanted by the idea because he loves sailing. I learned to sail via my father," he explained.

"He died this year, aged 94, and the last lucid conversation was all about sailing – it was the best conversation I'd had with him for about a year."

The couple plan to sail to Scandinavia on their yacht

The couple have been to the Isle of Man and are currently in the Scottish islands. They plan to sail to Scandinavia and want to cross the Atlantic.

Ms Webb said long-distance sailing was "safer than driving a car every day".

"When you're sailing, you need to think and you need to plan, and it helps keep us mentally alive," said Mr Webb.

"A lot of people can't imagine how the two of us, aged 70 and 65, can handle the boat by ourselves, and we do have an argument once a day on average, but I'm extremely lucky to find somebody who loves sailing so much," he added.

The couple said they are loving life and have no plans to return to Portishead.