When a Retirement Home Is a Boat in the Caribbean

Two years ago, Harry Weidman and his partner, Ann Stockton, were visiting the U.S. Virgin Islands, where they were thinking about buying a condo. A friend they were sailing with suggested they buy a boat instead. "He lit a dormant fuse. I couldn't sleep that night, wondering, could I possibly pull this off?" says Weidman, 62.

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For years, he had sailed on other people's boats and dreamed of living on one. He felt happiest and most serene on the water, especially once land had disappeared from view. Neither Weidman nor Stockton had ever owned a boat, let alone a sailing vessel, but taking a leap of faith, they bought Whisper, a 40-foot catamaran.

Now, Weidman and Stockton, 60, are living the dream. Whisper is home while they spend the next three years of the five they've allotted for exploring the Caribbean. "We're in different places all the time," he says.

Along with exploring each island's culture and meeting people from around the world, Weidman and Stockton swim and snorkel every day, marveling at beautiful sunrises and sunsets, the latter with a sundowner cocktail in hand. Stockton loves sleeping while the boat gently rocks. She has woken