Per: "I was born in Sweden in 1961 and grew up in a variety of exciting places. At around age 10 the whole family moved to Tabouk, a small town in Northern Saudi Arabia where cars were a novelty, and all available telephones were probably counted on one hand. This was the beginning to a few years in the Middle East where we also lived in Riyadh, and Beirut. I spent my high school years in Gränna, a famous boarding school in Sweden after which I returned briefly to the Middle East and worked in the United Arab Emirates. After that followed the standard Swedish military service and a stint in Florida to become a scuba diving instructor. By then I realized it was time to get a proper university degree and ended up studying 5 years at Webster University in Geneva Switzerland, and discovered the world of personal computers and business management. Being interested in both I decided to start a software company, HotSoft Development Sarl in 1989. I had found that there was a market for a good quality, easy to use, and a very comprehensive hotel reservation system and so I set off to develop just that. HotSoft was launched in 1990 and then grew into a major market playing during the 1990's. In 2000 it was bought by Hoist Group AB of Stockholm Sweden where it is now in good hands ."

Elly: "Being half Dutch and half Iranian I have a bit of the Dutch laid back style but also a bit of business acumen and general curiosity. I grew up outside Rotterdam, but did my middle education at a boarding school in England, and my high school in Geneva Switzerland. Thanks to spending time in these countries I was lucky to accumulate a few languages which really does broaden your horizons. After high school I decided I wanted to stay in Switzerland and continued with a BA and MA at Webster University. Following graduation we moved to Verbier, a famous (the best) ski resort, where there are not many opportunities for a business career. So instead I specialized in having a good time skiing and working in a coffee bar, running my own shop, and working for a fashion/ski shop, while at the same time making sure that Per worked hard making HotSoft a success <wink>. We moved to London in 1999 where I quickly got busy rebuilding the house we bought in Barnes. Together we stripped the whole interior and built a new kitchen, bathroom, walls, floors, and then the complete garden. After that I spent my time enjoying London while working a few blocks from Oxford street right in the center. Having had a father who was a captain cruising comes as second nature to me. We had two boats in London, and Sybaris is now our new home."

We set out on our adventures in May 2006. The summer of 2006 was spent cruising around in Greece: Saronic Gulf, Eastern Peloponnisos, Cyclades, and the Dodecanese. This was a perfect playing ground to get to know the boat and to complete some necessary fixes and modifications - all while sightseeing at the same time. Sybaris proved to be what we had hoped for, and is a dream to sail.

Many full time sailors spend the winter in one of several modern marinas in Turkey, but we wanted to continue cruising. So instead we crossed the Mediterranean in October with a few other boats to Port Said, through the Suez Canal and on to the Egyptian "Riviera" in the Red Sea where we spent the winter enjoying good weather, did some diving, had the teak deck fully re-caulked and sanded, and travelled to sea the wonders of Cairo, Giza, Luxor and Aswan.

In April 2007 we sailed due North again this time via Cyprus which we know well from all the time we spent there in the 80's when Per worked a few times as a Scuba instructor. Cyprus is still the same (perhaps with some more houses and hotels), and a great place to visit. The rest of the summer we sailed along the Turkish SW coast and the Greek Dodecanese island up to Chios and Ismir.  There were several extreme heat waves during the summer of 2007, and we spent 10 days on the hard in Marti Marina for anti-fouling and maintenance in temperatures up to 45 degrees Celsius. We also got to know many other cruisers during the summer and became true "live aboards" and accustomed to this this new lifestyle.

In the end of September 2007 we joined the Vasco da Gama rally and had a truly fantastic trip in the company of 18 other boats along the Turkish SE coast, to Larnaca Cyprus, through the Suez Canal, and with 2 boats up the Gulf of Aqaba to spend a week at the Royal Jordanian Yacht Club. Jordan is well worth a visit, with fantastic sites such as Petra and Wadi Rum to visit. The winter was again spent in the Egyptian "Riviera" and this time mostly in the newly opened Hurghada marina.

April 2008 saw us Northbound again, and this time we passed by Cyprus and then headed due East to Lattakia in Syria where we spent two weeks traveling by land to discover a truly amazing country. Upon leaving Syria we went on to explore the SE coast of Turkey in more detail, and then spent the rest of the summer in SW Turkey and the Greek Dodecanse islands. It was a busy summer with several weeks of charter, and some work on the boat while we did the yearly haul-out for anti-fouling.

We like the Red Sea so much that we again headed South in October, through the Suez Canal, down around and up the Sinai to Jordan for a two week visit, and south to Hurghada again.

Hurghada, February 2009