Olá, Bonjour, G’Day!
We’re Antoine, Alex, Max & Maddie - a family of French, Mozambican, Portuguese, and Australian backgrounds, who traded our land life in Sydney, Australia for a life of adventure on the ocean in 2024.
Our initial plan was to sail for about a year from Europe to the Caribbean, but we felt time was passing by so fast and there is still so much to see. So…we have decided to stay aboard and keep exploring the world a little longer!
Since purchasing our sailing catamaran Tranquila in Denmark in June ‘24, we sailed her down the Western European coast towards the Canary Islands, where we joined the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) fleet for a 3 weeks crossing of the Atlantic ocean.
After making landfall in December ‘24 on the island of St Lucia, we cruised through the Caribbean islands, then hopped to the Dominican Republic, before reaching the Bahamas. We then continued all the way up to the Chesapeake bay in the United States to take part in the ARC Europe rally that sails back to Portugal with stopovers in Bermuda and the Azores archipelago.
We’re currently back in Europe exploring the Mediterranean sea and planning to take it a little slower!
Meet the Crew
-
Ant
CAPTAIN
Growing up in suburban Paris, Antoine spent most of his summer family holidays sailing dinghies and flying kites on the coast of France.
After moving to Sydney, Australia where he met Alex, he took on skippering cruising yachts as a fun way to catch up with friends and family during trips back to Europe.
Not just our "Captain", Ant is also known as "Chief Toilet Unblocker", "Watermarker Whisperer" and "Hull Scrubbing Ninja".
His days are a blend of weather planning, sail trimming, boat fixing and anchorage research to keep Tranquila's crew safe, supplied, entertained and solving problems you didn't even know existed)!
-
Alex
CHIEF OFFICER
Alex was born and raised in Mozambique, where her love for the ocean started early as her days were often spent out on the ocean.
Life later took her across the world, studying in the UK, US, and Australia, but it was Sydney that eventually stole her heart (and became home for the past 10 years). There, at the university sailing club, she met Antoine and together, they built a life of adventure, two beautiful kids, and a continued deep connection to the sea.
These days, when she’s not homeschooling, provisioning, cooking, managing the social calendar, or untangling fishing lines, you’ll find her paddle boarding, snorkelling, kiting or trying to learn a new hobby (winging!) - although life aboard a boat with kids doesn’t leave much free time for this stuff, surprisingly.
-
Max
HEAD OF CHAOS
Max, our eldest, runs on crepes and a deep love of fishing. You’ll usually find him buried in a book, building with Lego, or snorkeling off in search of underwater creatures.
Though he’s bilingual, he taught himself to read in French the fun way—through Picsou, Lucky Luke, and Asterix & Obelix comics.
Max is a walking encyclopedia with a huge passion for the ocean. Whether it’s fish, sharks, or octopuses, he knows an impressive amount of facts about all things underwater—and he’s always ready to share them.
-
Maddie
ASSISTANT CHAOS MANAGER
Maddie takes her role as second child, and Chaos Manager, very seriously.
When she’s not backing up her big brother as his enthusiastic fishing assistant, she’s busy playing with her mermaids, plush toys, Magna-Tiles, and luckily, shares his love of Lego too.
She’s never far from a glittery tutu or a reason to throw a party. So if you sail by and spot us on the flybridge with music blasting, you know why!
Why a Leopard 50?
Join us in our chat with Leopard Catamarans in their "Ask an Owner” series as we dive into our experience as new owners, crossing the Bay of Biscay and then the Atlantic - all in just a few months of ownership - whilst juggling two kids aboard!
spoiler alert: we have not been disappointed!
