Lukim Yu, a Lagoon 380, is set to rejoin the Whitsunday Rent a Yacht fleet in early 2024. Where has she been? Well, there’s a story, and we think it’s worth sharing.
Lukim Yu’s owners, Denise and Jamie, had been dreaming of diving and sailing the world since their kids were in primary school. Life threw some curve balls, but the dream remained, and in 2017, with adult children doing their own thing, they decided to “throw caution to the wind”. After much preparation, the adventurous couple took Lukim Yu out of the Whitsunday Rent a Yacht fleet, where she was invested, and made her their permanent home with a goal to dive and sail in some of the best destinations around the world.
Jamie shared, “What was the worst that could happen? We could go broke. We’ve done that before and survived. Let the adventure begin.”
Enjoy an interview below where Jamie shares highlights along with how they made their sailing dream a reality and check out their story on their website, or on their Youtube channel (Sailing Lukim Yu), where they share great tips and general travel guide info for cruising the globe.
About Lagoon 380 Lukim Yu
Lukim Yu has returned to us in ship shape with all the modern features anyone would need for a comfortable home on the water.
Lukim Yu’s comfortable interior lounge, spacious, well-appointed kitchen and covered rear entertaining deck, complete with BBQ make her ideal for cruising as a group. With a large saloon and excellent deck space the Lagoon 380 offers a huge amount in a 38ft package. But what sets Lukim Yu apart from the rest is her Starlink internet and coffee machine!
With four cabins, two bathrooms, and the stability and space features Lagoon Cats are famous for, we’re thrilled to have this beautiful boat back in our fleet and available for charter around the Whitsundays
Interview with Lukim Yu’s owners Denise and Jamie
How did you prepare for sailing the world?
In many parts of the world, there is no one coming to save you, so you need to be completely self-sufficient. With this in mind, we set about learning as much as we could in areas that were completely foreign to us, which was just about everything!
Probably the most important was to hire a number of different yachts with Whitsunday Rent a Yacht. I know that sounds like an advertising plug, but it’s true. If you want to know if this lifestyle is for you, you need to try it. And what better way is there to decide on what kind of yacht you want to go cruising on? We sailed on a Beneteau 393, and a Jeanneau 49. But once we stepped onboard a Lagoon 380 (Lukim Yu), we were sold. This surprised us having always been monohull sailors.
Next was courses and experience. One of the best courses we ever took, which has also been taken by Jessica Watson, was Gerry Fitzgerald’s diesel mechanical course, in Manly Brisbane. This program was hands on, easy to follow, inclusive and it enable us to service and repair our own engines in remote locations. A must for anyone looking to sail internationally [Training courses, including the RYA diesel engine course are available in Manly, Brisbane with Southern Cross Yachting]
Elements of shipboard safety and firefighting were among the commercial courses we undertook. Coastal navigation, first aid and radio telephony rounded out the recreational courses. Then, it was a matter of getting on the water as much as possible. Having purchased a yacht in the Whitsunday Rent a Yacht fleet meant we could spend our holidays, getting to know our yacht better over a number of years, whilst also having a great time!
To prepare for offshore, Lukim Yu had always been beautifully maintained by Whitsunday Rent a Yacht, so there was very little we needed to do from a maintenance perspective. However, we added 1.3 kw of solar, a life raft, a more powerful outboard motor for the dinghy, a sat phone and spinnaker*. In the years since, we increased our battery storage, upgraded our inverter to 5kw, and added a few luxuries, such as air conditioning, a great coffee machine and a dive compressor*.
*Please note that some of features are not included for bareboat charter, see Lukim Yu’s spec page for a list of hire features
Can you give us a sense of your travels and how you decided where to go?
Our destinations were somewhat chosen based on winds and sailing seasons. After sailing down the coast of Australia, we sailed to Lord Howe Island (a must for any sailor, simply stunning!), Norfolk Island, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, The Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand (Covid gap in which we shipped our yacht back to Australia) Up to Lizard island in FNQ, New Zealand, Tonga, Fiji and home. Wow! That was 6 years.
What are your top three sailing destinations around the world?
1) North Eastern Indonesia. A remote region called Raja Ampat. Simply stunning location with remarkable snorkelling and diving. One of the most beautiful places we have ever seen in the world.
2) The Whitsundays. (I kid you not!) After 20,000nm and 6 years, the access to good sailing and even better anchorages makes The Whitsundays one the best in the world.
3) Thailand. It’s beautiful, the people are super friendly, the food is fantastic and spare parts are easy to get.
Where was the best diving?
Raja Ampat, Indonesia. Whale sharks, Manta Rays, exotic fish with gin clear water.
If you like diving Ship wrecks, Santo in Vanuatu is home to The President Coolidge. Arguably, the largest accessible ship wreck in the world, just off the beach in Santo.
What is one sailing highlight from your trip?
For Denise, one of our night sails/passages in gentle sailing conditions with no moon. The intensity of a billion stars overhead and the wonder of a gentle green carpet of phosphorescent organisms, sparkling green as they come in contact with the hull leaving a glow in our wake. There just aren’t words.
For me, it was being surrounded by dolphins playing in our bow wakes for hours on end. Their playful and inquisitive nature, turning to get a better look at us, as we were leaning over the bow looking at them. Simply magical.
What are your favourite features on Lukim Yu?
1) She’s really comfortable, both at sea and at anchor.
She’s also unbelievably tough, filling us with confidence in the worst of sailing conditions.
2) The coffee machine! Starting the day in paradise with a fantastic coffee; there’s nothing better!
3) The air conditioning. In anchorages, there is normally a breeze provided by the SE trade winds. But when you’re in a marina, completely protect from any wind, the ability to be cool and dry with the air conditioner on is fantastic. Hamilton Island is a good example. Very well protected means stiflingly hot. But not with air conditioning!
What advice would you give someone wanting to sail the world?
Make a plan to make it happen.
Keep hiring bareboats until you find one you love. Then buy one, ideally as a charter boat, where the tax benefits and charter income can largely pay for it for you.
Build your experience and decide to go. Set a date. You won’t feel like you’re ready, but at some point, you just need to go! You will continue to learn and you’ll meet the most amazing people who will share their experience and knowledge with you along the way.
Personally, I don’t think it’s the things we do in life that we regret. It’s the things we don’t do.
Where to now?
Work towards doing it all again one day. However, in the next 5-10 years we plan to spend time with our young grand kids and share the sailing adventures with them.
Bareboat ownership: A way to live the dream
Investing in a bareboat was a step that Jamie and Denise took to make their global sailing adventure a reality. By purchasing a catamaran and placing it with our team, their boat was maintained and hired out to bareboat visitors, generating an income while they prepared for their international adventure. And, as you know, they have been able to return their boat to bareboat hire, where she will continue to “work for them”. Plus, she’s still available for private use and sailing with the grandkids around the Whitsunday Islands. Not a bad strategy!
