Follow our adventures as we meander slowly from Mexico back to home waters, dropping the hook wherever wind, waves and essential repairs take us.
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This is where we are……….Ipswich..U.K.
Welcome aboard SV Chantey.
Join liveaboard skippers Ivan and Jane Chevous as we follow our dream, wandering the seven seas on our sailing ketch Chantey, a Westsail 42 designed by Bill Crealock.
Share our adventures as we try to become ‘Barefoot Sailors’ – sailing simply and sustainably. Explore all things nautical, from sea shanties to whale-spotting and join in with your own stories, ideas, questions, and wisdom. Let’s inspire the world to experience and protect the wonders of the deep.
So hitch up your hammock, pour a tot of rum and let the salty tales commence!
So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain
Ivan found Chantey through an internet search for a bluewater boat. We loved Ame, our 1947 classic wooden Gauntlet, but with grandchildren appearing at the rate of one a year and dreams of visiting coral islands, we needed a larger boat that was easier to sail.
We knew we wanted a double-ender and Westails were on our wish list, along with Hans Christians, Valiants, Tayanas and Pacific Seacraft. Ivan was drawn to the Westsail because of the full height engine room (a place of his own in the boat where he knew Jane would not follow.) We both liked the idea of the flexible ketch rig (more, smaller sails, easier to handle.)
Chantey was a project boat that we felt we could bring back to life with time and a minimal budget. Of course, plans and boats don;t go together. We bought Chantey in 2008 and for the next 7 years spent our holidays as yard rats, transforming a filthy, neglected yacht into a comfortable cruising home.
