Mom and Kelsey - Conception Island, Bahamas

After five months on the water with two small children, I can honestly say I have cherished every moment. ( like this one! J).  

 From the endless planning and exhausting provisioning to the wonderful hours playing on deserted beaches, I have enjoyed it all.  So much in fact that we decided to sell our home in Alaska, a few other assets, and begin our sailing dream.

Madison and Kelsey have met many friends cruising and they’ve seen them sail away.  It can be hard, but they know there will be others to meet along the way and have no trouble being the first to say Hello!

Aside from the occasional errand or spear-fishing excursion, Paul and I are always together.   It may sound weird having your spouse breathing down your neck 24 hours a day but it is a comfort and a shared life I could experience with no other.  His experience as captain and geographer has inspired me to believe and discover. I can finally take a fix now without putting us off the charts!

The Bahamas have been a great jumping off point for our next destinations throughout the Caribbean and Central America.   The girls have adjusted better than I imagined and we’ve now got a taste for what life is like cruising with our children.

Like the routines we found ourselves falling into at home we realized we needed a similar structure onboard as well.

Home school begins in the morning, afternoons are reserved for adventures ashore, nights are spent socializing, reading and stargazing.  Don't get me wrong - we've spent many hours in unimaginable yoga-like positions dissecting engines, water-makers and toilets, beyond what one can almost endure at times.

The things I have loved most about our sailing life so far have been the little moments.  The smell of homemade biscuits and coffee at sunrise.  A glowing kerosene lantern. The girls' face when they find a hermit crab. Van Morrison and a smooth all day sail. Kelsey dancing naked in a rainstorm.  The way perfect strangers suddenly enter your life and become close friends overnight.   

Most of all having ‘Ohana has made me feel very, very blessed.