Readers following Phillida Eves and family, who swapped life in Galway for a boat on the Med, will get a chance to see them on-screen.
My daughter Soracha (four) is in the bath and Cian (eight) is feeding Poppy the dog. The same scenario as in many homes on a weekday evening but there's a difference; our home is a yacht in the Mediterranean. Soracha's bath is a paddling pool on deck and Oisin (11) is keeping watch for other yachts as we sail through the inland sea in the Ionian Greek islands.
Since moving from our home in Galway onto our boat, Kari, in July 2003, we have had three wonderful summers sailing in the Mediterranean. We sailed to San Pietro, a little island off Sardinia, and ate lots of real Italian pizzas, fresh pasta, pesto and ice cream. We sailed on to Ustica, Lipari, Stromboli and Vulcano, stunningly beautiful volcanic islands 70 miles north of Sicily. We saw lots of pumice floating in the sea.
Next stop, the heel of mainland Italy, where we bought pizza by the metre. We swam in the middle of the ocean, 70 miles from land, in water 2 miles deep. We've sailed with large pods of dolphins, and seen turtles, kingfishers and pelicans.
In case it all sounds too perfect, I'll add a few reality checks. The weather in Italy was often unbearably hot and humid. Our shower is a hose on the back of the boat. A big wave came in through the hatches and we spent hours hand-washing salty couch covers, sheets and towels.
The first summer we found the sailing daunting, but the more we do, the more we love it. We love the freedom of taking our home to exciting places and enjoy the challenge of safely sailing Kari.
Everyone has their role when we come into harbours to tie the boat to the quay, and when we drop anchor in bays. The children know that we all have to work together because it's vital for everyone's safety. They have become responsible and resourceful too, entertaining themselves on long passages of two- and three-day journeys.
As we travel, we spend a lot of time in the cockpit, the steering area of the boat, reading stories, doing times tables and eating chocolate biscuits. If the sea is rough we cuddle up in the cockpit, nibbling rice cakes and sharing a sick bowl.
WE'VE HAD SCARY moments, like when our boat dragged its anchor in the middle of the night and we got tangled up with an Austrian boat. We have sailed onto thick mud and been firmly stuck to the ground for 24 hours. When this happened we felt stupid and inadequate, but now we realise that this is all part of life on a boat.
We remortgaged our house and bought the boat because we wanted to share our love of the outdoors and sailing with our three children and we wanted a more adventurous and challenging way of life. We have found this and more, but it's not always easy.
We based ourselves in Barcelona marina for two winters. Tedd worked as a relief engineer on enormous superyachts, Soracha went to a Catalan school and I home-schooled the boys. We made wonderful friends in Barcelona, and found living in a Mediterranean city exciting, exotic, at times frustrating, but always interesting.
Boat life in January and February was hard work. The weather was freezing - Poppy's water bowl was frozen each morning and the decks covered in ice. We huddled up with blow heaters, hot water bottles and duvets, and dreamt about sitting on a large couch by a warm fire. Then we all got the flu and it took weeks to feel better. Everything felt difficult.
HOME SCHOOLING IS a big commitment - it's a huge responsibility taking on the education of our children - and any spare time is spent doing domestics in a ridiculously inefficient environment. One day, walking in the Barri Gòtic with Soracha, I realised that although I felt so frustrated about "not being able to do what I wanted to do", I was actually doing exactly what I wanted to do - living on a boat in the Mediterranean with my family. My whole attitude changed and I began to enjoy again each moment for what it was, and to relax into it all.
We have great freedom but anxious moments too, mainly around money and getting work. Tedd, a marine diesel engineer, has had interesting work all through the winters in Barcelona, but the marina fees are high and money just goes.
In July 2005 we left Barcelona and are now sailing in the Greek islands, en route to Turkey. We want to continue this lifestyle for as long as it is financially and educationally possible. Tedd will hopefully continue to get work on superyachts.
The best thing about our adventure is that it feels so right. We have never regretted our decision to set sail, though at times the uncertainties and financial stresses are very scary.
But we have shared many fabulous experiences, met real-life challenges at sea and feel so privileged to have this time together. I know we are all gaining hugely from this adventure, sharing the highs and lows as a family, and discovering together that we are all capable of doing far more than we ever dreamt possible.
The new series of Meet the Family starts on Tues on RTÉ1 at 7pm with Phillida and her family's maritime adventures