FAQ

Adelaide and Isa looking out to sea at Bodega bay
Adelaide and Isa looking out to sea at Bodega bay

When we share our plans with unsuspecting friends and family, we get a blank stare and furrowed brow for about 5 seconds, and then the questions start flowing.  They are all great questions and I decided to answer a few here in short form.

  1. Yup!  Homeschool… or boatschool.  No, I haven’t totally figured out the program, but I’m planning on a combination of a rigorous math program, a rigorous english program and filling in the rest with projects based on where we are and what we are doing while keeping close tabs on the common core standards.
  2. Pirates?  well… we plan to avoid their territory, and generally, they are going for bigger prizes than a slow-to-their-standards sailing vessel with a family on board.
  3. 5 years… or more… or less.
  4. 43 foot Mason, which is a great, heavy displacement cruising boat.
  5. The Route?  First we plan to head to Mexico (and we may stay there for a while) or straight to French Polynesia from San Diego  It depends on the timing.  The rout is an equatorial circumnavigation with major stops in NZ, South Africa, the Med and the Caribbean.  But the plan is loose.
  6. No, we don’t have a “sail away from the docks” date and time.  It’s a moving target with lots of unfinished boat projects.
  7. We have been saving and planning for this for as long as we have known each other.
  8. I will be flying home 4 times a year to continue my work as a consulting winemaker and to work on my own wine brand.  Cameron will probably be absorbed with maintaining the boat, but is very interested in working in a few choice locations around the world as a guest winemaker during harvest.
  9. Our families and friends are amazingly supportive and excited for our trip.  They hide their trepidation well.
  10. Safe?  That is a big topic.  Look for a post on that soon.  But, in general, it is just as safe as driving up and down the Silverado Trail 4+ times a day surrounded by drunk tourists… possibly safer.  It’s a topic we take very seriously.
  11. Yes!  Other families are doing this successfully.  Check out some of these blogs that we follow.

 

SV Totem

SV Del Viento

Bumfuzzle

SV Yolo

 

Contemplating your own family adventure?  They take many forms…. Get inspired by this podcast!

http://www.familyadventurepodcast.com

Happy Trails!