Dream to reality: family sails off around the world

Perhaps you're lucky enough to have a holiday with your family this summer. But imagine what it would be like to set off with your parents and brothers and sisters on a journey that may last several years. Making that happen has taken Antoine and Agathe's family seven years to organise.

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A cat for six

Since October last year, the two adults and their four children - and their two cats - have been living on their boat and preparing it for the heavy weather they will encounter as they cross the oceans in the coming years. The sailing boat is a catamaran - also called a "cat" - which means it has two hulls. It's a bit like two boats side by side.

They're living on the boat because they had to sell their house to have enough money for the boat and their journey. Mum and dad, Marion and Ivan, have also had to change the work they do so that they can go on earning a living while they're sailing. Those are just some of the big things that the family has had to do to make their dream come true. 

Agathe says it wasn't easy getting used to a small space on a boat compared to the bedroom she had in their house. But Antoine seems not so bothered - as he says, the family has been planning this trip for as long as he can remember !

Swim with a dolphin

At sea for a month now, the children have already had some unforgettable experiences. Agathe says she's never seen so many stars in the sky - she even saw the Milky Way. And the whole family dived into the sea one day to swim with a curious dolphin who came to nose around the boat.

After sailing around the Mediterranean Sea, the family will head out across the Atlantic Ocean this winter, heading for South America.

"We've made it so far, and that's also what we wanted to show the children," mum Marion says in this week's adventure in the WoW! News app. "It's all about having confidence. When you really believe in something, you can make it happen - even when it seems crazy."