A lot of folks likely have dreamed of shedding their responsibilities and the trappings of daily life and sailing off into the sunset.

Two years ago, Ray and Sandy McCoy, longtime Upper St. Clair residents, did just that.

The retired biology teacher and registered nurse sold the home they had lived in for 35 years, their two cars and some of their possessions. What they had left they either put in storage or gave away.

In February 2006, they headed to Florida, where they bought a 47-foot sailboat and sailed for the Virgin Islands. Sandy was 58 and Ray was 62 when they started their adventure.

Since then, they've spent most of their time at sea, sailing between the U.S. and British Virgin Islands and south to St. Lucia and Grenada. They return to land for several months of each year to an apartment they keep in Sewickley.

"It's been everything we'd hoped it would be," Mrs. McCoy said. "We just enjoy the boat and sailing and the waters. It's kind of like dropping a little bit out of the rat race.

"We've met interesting people and we've seen waterfalls and rain forests and little rivers and wild monkeys."

On a recent morning when Mrs. McCoy gave a phone interview, the boat was anchored in Hawk's Nest Bay off the Island of St. John.

"It's just paradise here. There are very secluded white beaches and lots of turtles and it's very calm," she said.

Their schedule for the day included sailing to the British Virgin Islands and "meeting up with some cruising friends."

In fact, the McCoys said one of the things they like the most about their life on the water is all of the other sailing couples and families they've met.

Mrs. McCoy said the groups not only socialize together but look out for each other during bad weather and emergencies.

The McCoys read numerous books and articles about the Caribbean and had chartered boats there before they set off on their life at sea.

They discovered sailing when their daughters, now grown and married, were very young and the family visited Mrs. McCoy's brother who had moved to the Chesapeake Bay area.

The McCoy family attended the Annapolis Sailing School, and Mr. McCoy also took Pittsburgh Power Squadron courses designed to teach navigation, engine repair, piloting and general seamanship.

But shortly after they set sail in retirement, they found out what their lessons and previous sailing experience hadn't taught them: Owning a boat and living on it is a lot of work.

"It isn't all rest and relaxation," Mrs. McCoy said.

When they chartered boats, they weren't responsible for maintenance. While Mr. McCoy has learned to do many boat repairs himself, the couple still has to hire professionals for a good bit of the maintenance and repairs.

"The engine needs maintenance and oil changes. Once we lost our engine and had to sail the whole way," she said.

If there hadn't been wind, they would have had to call a sea tow service to get them, she said.

Another time, they had to hire someone to climb the 60-foot-high mast to repair the rigging.

They rarely dock. Instead, they anchor on the water. That makes activities such as grocery shopping and doing laundry a particular challenge.

"Just going grocery shopping takes a day. First, you have to go to where there is a grocery. Then you take your dinghy to a dock and you usually have a 10- to 15-minute walk to the store or you can take a taxi.

"Then you take your groceries back the same way. It takes a long time, and after that, we always take a rest," Mrs. McCoy said.

A similar method is used for doing laundry, which the McCoys do every three weeks. For that trip, they always pack waterproof bags in case a sudden shower starts on the way home.

They have a 200-gallon water tank on board that holds a supply that lasts about two weeks. "So you have to plan ahead and know that you will be somewhere where you can fill up," Mrs. McCoy said.

The boat holds about 500 square feet of living space, which is about the size of a "very small apartment," Mrs. McCoy said. "But then we have the whole cockpit, which is very comfortable."

The boat has two sleeping cabins, and the McCoys have had as many as three guests at one time.

It has an air conditioning system, but it's rarely used because the breeze on the sea provides natural cooling. It also has a portable generator.

The McCoys try not to spend too much time in the cabin. But this winter brought heavy winds that forced them into their cabin more than they wanted.

They have spent several months of each of the past two years on land, living in their Sewickley apartment and making frequent trips to Upper St. Clair, where their daughter, Erin Madson, and her husband, Mark, are raising their five children. Their other daughter, Megan Long, is an attorney in Chicago.

To keep friends and relatives up to date on where they are and what they are up to, the McCoys maintain a blog. They also use e-mail and two cell phones to stay in touch.

"By the time we get home, we miss our families and everything on land looks very clean and green to us," Mrs. McCoy said.

They plan to return to land for a while by the end of June.

"We are not going to do this forever," Mrs. McCoy said. "But we are just very proud of ourselves that at our age we set these goals and we came down here and did this. We wanted to have an adventure and we are."