A little about us. We lived just outside of San Francisco (because it’s a great city, you just wouldn’t wanna to live there). Call me crazy but I'm just not a fan of fog and parkas in June. We have four kids between us last time I checked. They fled to college and are busy adulting now, mostly because they like to eat good food and the rule in my house is whatever I make can’t take longer to cook than to eat (the devious scheme worked).
https://youtu.be/c-iQOPWvlVU?si=GZziBOt1nxhLKNJR
Our someday plan was to sell our belongings, buy a boat and with reckless abandon sail away and never look back. Our crazy plan started out as a secret because, first, it’s crazy and second, because we had jobs and we needed our jobs, you know, to save up to pay for the boat. So we decided to start a blog and a podcast to share our experiences leading up to the big Geronimo – because the only people on the internet that will read this is our family anyway.
Stephane has done a few TransPac and PacCup races, placing well in various divisions including one being double-handed. When we met about ten years ago, we started talking about cruising. He’s originally from Brittany France, so he’s got that Breton sailing blood and enjoys the idea of a more simple life. I love the ocean and am into hillbilly camping of any kind, (because it brings me back to my roots growing up on a log cabin with an outhouse), so our goals are aligned. After spending some time with him sailing, we decided to join a sailing club here in SF because I wanted to take sailing classes. It dawned on me one day in bad current and full fog that if he fell off the boat we would both die – which wasn’t really in my plan. He tagged along with me in the classes because I used to be cute back then, and having him there helped me a lot when we got to the Navigation course, which were make-you-wanna-cry hard to get through.
Our time in Greece 2020
We have accumulated different sailing certifications, though our kids remain unimpressed. Stephane is closet-overachiever so he completed the RYA Yachtmaster Certification. We had bareboat chartered during anything resembling a vacation, hosting trips shamelessly begging everyone we know into joining us. We didn't tell them about the seasick part, at least not right away. We’ve done Belize, BVIs, Channel Islands, Sea of Cortez and day sails/weekend of all sorts around the Bay Area. Like other sailing fanatics, we saved money on weekends binge watching boat videos on YouTube and debating over really important things like lithium batteries and whether or not air conditioning is a requirement on the boat. Quick tip if you are a man trying to talk your wife into living on a boat, A/C is a requirement if you want to cuddle anywhere near the equator and stay married through the hot-flash era, just putting that out there.
We sufficiently disguised ourselves as grown-ups during the weeks and on weekends we devoured information and stalked people at boat shows learning everything we can about how people make a life on the water. We continue to be amazed by at the lack of practical information needed to make such a significant life change, outside the whisper network. Especially since in 100 years from now the planet will be underwater so it sorta feels like finding such information should be as easy as buying car insurance online.
We finally got our boat, quit our jobs, sold our house and told our kids about our plans...maybe not in that order. In June of 2020, we officially casted off after some bumps and bruises commissioning and launching our big adventure through a global pandemic.
We spent the first season getting our boat wanderlust ready for world cruising, and enjoying the trek from La Rochelle France through the Med, up to Montenegro where our boat spent its first winter. We spent the second season exploring Croatia, Greece and Turkey, and you can follow our full journey with stops and pictures on our sailing map.
In those two seasons we learned a lot about ourselves. One of them was we wanted to sail more than motor so we probably needed a lighter boat. In 2023 we made the move to a performance catamaran and it did not disappoint.
If you are thinking about starting your journey, or are already knee deep in it, check out our Covert Castaway podcast anywhere you listen or on our podcast page.
© 2024 Sailing Awen. All Rights Reserved.