Who We Are

In April 2006, Bill and Susan Grun purchased a J/160, a 52-foot high performance sailing vessel built for speed and designed to cruise the oceans in comfort and style.  We named her Avante, a Portuguese word meaning to move forward, and that is exactly what Bill and Susan (hereafter called The Captain and The First Mate) aimed to do.

Married almost 40 years, retired nearly 9, with homes in Telluride and Scottsdale, The First Mate considered the pattern of their lives set.  The  San Juan Mountains and all they offer will backdrop the winters and summers.  Scottsdale will be their city retreat during the muddy Alpine off-seasons.  She should have known better.  Not only was The Captain growing increasingly bored and restless, she realized that she was too.  His old dream of sailing the oceans resurfaced.

The boat was chosen, a rough 10-year plan was devised, and she, the novice white-knuckle sailor, found herself  The First Mate of a demanding, high-powered boat.  The learning curve was huge, but the excitement, challenge and adventure proved to be everything and more than either had imagined.  Life is good aboard the s/v Avante. 

Click on the years at the top of the page to follow our adventures year by year. From San Diego to Alaska, from Mexico across the Pacific and then cruising the South Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand for over 10 years.  Our initial rough 10-year sailing plan was modified a number of times, and the end date is long past, and still, we are sailing. When will we want to or have to stop? At the moment, that answer is only a vague acknowledgement that as we age, the end time is drawing closer. However, age is only a number and as we plan our next adventure, the pull to keep on sailing is strong.  As the name Avante translates, we are drawn to keep “moving forward”, and happily, we do so.