FOR MANY people, quitting your job to sail the world may sound the stuff of fantasy, but one woman who did exactly that over 40 years ago has published a new book documenting her adventures.

Author Carole May's 'This Cruising Life', is to be the first in a trilogy about her travels with husband Ron, recounting their life after they set sail from Newport in their boat, Soñadora, in April 1975.

Asked what inspired them to take such a bold step into the unknown, Carole replied simply: "We just got restless."

The book's introduction states that the couple had become bored by the mundane nature of everyday life - Carole as a nurse and Ron, an electrician - when one day Ron came up with the suggestion of sailing the world after seeing an advert in a magazine.

Carole loved the idea, but there was just a small problem. Neither of them knew how to sail, or navigate, and they didn't have a yacht.

"We started out with the idea of buying a yacht, but Ron, who liked his home comforts, knew in his head exactly what he wanted," said Carole.

"We went to the London boat shows and couldn't find anything suitable, or indeed that we could afford.

"It wasn't until later that we started looking at catamarans. We didn't know anything about them."

After another unsuccessful search, Ron came up with the idea of building the boat himself and sure enough, ably supervised by a professional catamaran designer, Soñadora was built - in a potato shed in South Wales.

Once complete, the couple set sail past Spain and as far south as the Canary Islands, before heading west to the Caribbean in late 1976.

The couple continued to sail the oceans for the next four years, which Carole's next book will look to further explore.

Answering why she had now decided to write the book, Carole said that she wanted it to be a fitting tribute to her husband, who sadly died in 2000.

But she added that the story was a happy one, and should be read as such.

"It's given me the release I wanted and it's reminded me of all the good things that Ron and I had, and how lucky we were to have them.

"We had complete faith in each other - that's what you need when you go out to sea.

"It's what made our decision (to sail the world) so easy. When you see something you want to do, you need to go and do it."

Carole is hosting a launch for her book at Barry Central Library on Saturday, August 19 at 1.30pm.

To purchase a copy of the book, please contact carole.sonadora2@gmail.com or jeannej81@hotmail.com.