The Boat
Lagoon 450 • Hull #161 • "Ad Astra"
The Origin Story
Sailing around the world had been Erik's deep goal for about 10 years. He worked his way up in boat sizes — a 27' Newport, then a 36' cat-rigged ketch named Andiamo II — before finding The One.
The healing of a monohull was a deal-breaker for Kaiwen. Not following his dream to blue-water sail was a deal-breaker for Erik. Both got lucky when they walked a Lagoon 450 at a boat show and instantly knew: this would work.
They bought Ad Astra new in 2012, commissioned her in La Rochelle, France, and sailed the Atlantic coast of France, Spain, and Portugal. Then came a 4-year side adventure back in Austin — starting another game company, building epic treehouses, learning MMA, keeping bees, raising chickens. But Ad Astra was waiting patiently.
In 2016, the family sold everything. House, cars, no storage. Erik's dad held their wedding pictures and a few artifacts. One-way tickets to St. Thomas. The adventure began.
The family with Ad Astra in La Rochelle, France — 2012
From above — solar arch, kayak, and turquoise water
Specifications
Lagoon 450
#161
2012
45 feet (13.96m)
25 feet (7.84m)
4.3 feet (1.30m)
4 cabins, 4 heads
2x Yanmar 57HP diesels
Watermaker + 2 tanks
La Rochelle, France
Upgrades & Systems
2,100 Watts of Solar
Custom 22-foot stainless steel arch by TechNick in Grenada holds 8 solar panels with 3 redundant Outback MPPT charge controllers. Replaced $7,200/year in diesel generator costs. The arch doubles as a dinghy garage, SUP rack, lounging deck, and BBQ area.
1,420Ah Lithium Battery Bank
52 CALB LiFePO4 cells in a 4s12p configuration. 80% usable capacity vs 30% for lead-acid, one-third the weight, 4-10x longer life. Powers two fridges, a freezer, five Macs, the watermaker, and washing machine simultaneously — all from the sun.
AIS Transponder & Digital Network
Digital Yacht iKommunicate bridges all NMEA2000 instruments to any device with a screen. 8TB cloud drive for movies, photos, and music. BadBoy WiFi extender for connectivity anywhere.
Dive Compressor
Bauer Oceanus onboard dive compressor with gear for up to 8 divers. Erik holds SDI/TDI Instructor credentials for everything from Open Water to Technical Decompression diving.
Dinghy: Exit Strategy
A 20HP Tohatsu-powered tender that can plane at 23 mph solo. Upgraded with Hypalon patches, navigation lights, custom oar handles, anti-skid bottom, and Racor fuel filters.
Enclosed Cockpit
Full canvas enclosure transforms the cockpit into an all-weather living room. Kaiwen sewed much of it herself — one of many skills the family picked up along the way.
The fully enclosed cockpit — teak, canvas, and home
The flybridge — best office view in the world
The Crew
Captain Erik Bethke
USCG 100-ton Master, TDI/SDI Dive Instructor
Game industry veteran (Starfleet Command, GoPets, Zynga, Bee Cave Games), former NASA/JPL UV spectrometer engineer. Wakes up at 5am now and prefers the 3-6am watch.
Admiral Kaiwen Bethke
Game Producer, Chef, Travel Guru
Converted from monohull-skeptic to catamaran enthusiast after walking a Lagoon 450 at a boat show. Master provisioner who can feed a crew from any Caribbean market.
First Mate Kyle Bethke
Lionfish Hunter, Python Developer
Earned his brown belt in MMA before leaving Austin. Became a competent junior software engineer, certified advanced diver, and accomplished lionfish assassin.
Navigator Max Bethke
Navigation Officer, Digital Artist
Maintains the ship's log, plots all navigation, programs in Python and C++. Demoed Million on Mars at PyCon 2018 to Google, Microsoft, and Amazon engineers at age 13.
Rear Admiral Sue Kuei
Iron Chef, Natural Sailor
Kaiwen's mother. Took to sailing like a natural. Her cooking aboard rivaled any Caribbean restaurant — and she had strong opinions about provisioning.
Exit Strategy — the dinghy, the sandcastle, and the good life