My life in boats: How this owner went from a BVI charter to a 41m world cruiser

What began as a one-off family charter in the BVIs led Cheryl Drury to a life at sea – and ownership of the 41.6-metre Jongert Abide, now listed for sale. She tells Kate Lardy how her sailing story unfolded, from Caribbean cruising to bluewater crossings and dreams of the South Pacific.

My husband, Bill, and I don’t have a typical sailing background. Our first-ever sail was a BVI charter in 2017. Our eldest son was graduating from high school and starting Navy ROTC and we weren’t sure what our future summers were going to look like, so we went sailing. By day three, my husband was talking to the captain about how the business worked. And by day four, both of us were thinking we could actually own a yacht, because it was the greatest vacation we’d ever had.

I happened to be reading the book Prisoners of Geography on that trip. Before then, islands had felt confining: You drop in from an aeroplane, you’re surrounded by water and you can’t go anywhere. Reading that book’s chapter on islands and being on the boat, I realised that I could view the world completely differently. What I thought were barriers were transformed into roads. I fell in love with being able to see the world at a slower pace, from the same vantage point that people have had for thousands of years.

Early in 2018, we bought an 18.9-metre charter catamaran called Callista. Before that though, we received some advice from an owner: “Boats are replaceable — you want to get a great crew.” We’d had a great time with our charter crew, and so we called up the captain and his wife, the chef, and said, “Hey, we really liked you; if we bought a boat, would you be interested in working for us?” They are still with us today.

We enjoyed Callista from the BVIs to Grenada until Covid-19 stopped us, which forced us to take stock: When the world opened back up, what did we want to do? The answer was big blue-water sailing. For that, we wanted a monohull and we bought a 41.6-metre Jongert we named Abide. After a couple of trips aboard, we took her to Front Street Shipyard in Maine for updating and maintenance.

Of course, what happens with any refit is that you discover the things you didn’t know, plus we added to the cosmetic to-do list on the fly. What we thought would be a nine-month refit turned into 21 months. She’s really beautifully built. We reduced the wood in some areas to give a bit of breathing room, but it wasn’t an easy decision; Jongert’s craftsmanship is unbelievable.

The finish line was in January 2024 when she sailed to our home in Charleston. We later joined her in Nassau and did the five-day crossing to St Thomas. She spent this past summer up north. New York Harbour was one of my dream destinations. At daybreak we passed under the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and then spent a night anchored off Liberty Island, which was super fun.

I have a podcast, Adventure on Deck. The idea behind it is that anyone can do these amazing things if you find the right people to do them with you. And we have. I love our crew. At the end of winter we’re headed to the Western Mediterranean; the following summer will be in the Eastern Med. 

We spent some time on shore in Croatia a couple of years ago, and we intentionally skipped Dubrovnik, because we want to see it by water. Another one of my dreams is to go through the Panama Canal on my own boat. But we’re all a bit afraid that once we head to the South Pacific there will be no coming back; it’s going to be so awesome.

First published in the January 2025 issue of BOAT International US Edition. Get this magazine sent straight to your door, or subscribe and never miss an issue.