LIFE AFTER POLICING
FOLLOW INTREPID BEAR Two police officers set sail on their dreams to travel the world
Many of us dream of sailing away into the sunset, but when you’re wrapped up in the cycle of shift work, paying bills and daily commitments it can feel impossible to make that leap. However, two police officers from Dorset did just that and live full time on their sailing boat having spent the past two years navigating the Mediterranean and sharing their adventures online as Follow Intrepid Bear. Iain and Kate Fraser were both full time police officers before taking the plunge. Iain, who retired in 2020 after serving 30 years with Dorset Police, explained: “I joined in 1990 and worked in a variety of frontline roles, including 10 years in the marine unit.” Kate started her policing career later in
life after initially working as a lawyer. She joined Avon and Somerset Police in 2007 in her thirties before transferring to Dorset Police after meeting Iain 11 years ago. “It was just coincidence when we met that we were both in the job,” she said. “We had a lot in common and that extended to our love for travelling.”
08 | POLICE | AUGUST | 2023
But Kate wasn’t particularly into boats before meeting Iain. “My dad had sailed extensively, including crossing the Atlantic in a 27-foot sailboat, but this wasn’t something I’d ever considered doing myself before meeting Iain”, she stated. Iain too had boating in his blood with his father serving in the navy. When they got married in 2017, still living in the UK and
“We always had a dream to sail further and further so we bought a sailing boat in 2019.”
working as police officers, Kate and Iain chartered a sailing boat and sailed to their wedding in Paxos, a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. “We always had a dream to sail further and further so we bought a sailing boat in 2019”, added Iain. “The boat is a 1997 Najad 391 - aptly named Intrepid Bear. Whilst she didn’t require any major work she was only outfitted for relatively light sailing around
the UK, so, to ensure she was fit for longer voyages and off grid living, we had to improve a few things. “We fitted an extensive solar power set up along with a water maker to allow us to make fresh water from seawater and other things such as davits for our dinghy and a freezer.” After Iain retired in November
2020, Kate took a career break after 14 years service, and the couple decided life was too short not to set sail. “I couldn’t retire until 2024 and I’ll only have 15 years in, so rather than waiting until I finished my time in the police, we decided to get on with it,” Kate said. The pair left in April 2021 with a dream
to sail back to Paxos for their fifth wedding anniversary in 2022.
In 2021 they sailed the south coast of the UK and the Isles of Scilly before sailing down the west coast of France and Spain to spend the winter in the Algarve, Portugal. Last year, Kate and Iain left their winter base in Portimão and set sail across the Mediterranean on course for Montenegro. Since leaving the EU, British citizens can
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