As the speck on the horizon blossomed into the island of Antigua, there was jubilation on board the Simplicity.

Ralph Hendry and Kathy Brandel had set sail from Virginia a week earlier, bringing their yachting friends Tammy and Pete Sisson with them to help crew their first Caribbean crossing.

“We were all so excited to have made it,” said Tammy, 61, from Newport, Rhode Island. “We all kicked back — Kathy and I were dancing in the cockpit.”

Hendry and Brandel with Tammy and Pete Sisson

Ralph, 66, and his wife of 27 years had sold their home in Arlington, Virginia in 2013 to live on the boat, and planned to spend this winter cruising around the Caribbean. Kathy, a real estate agent, had retired while Ralph, a financial consultant, worked remotely.

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