Casting Off

by KARIS

This little dream of ours has been years in the making. Some of us might say it dates back to when we were ten and we read Huckleberry Finn on our grandfather's houseboat. For others, it seems it was born as teenagers when we realized there was a whole world out there and we didn’t know when or how but we desperately needed to see it. Or maybe it started when, in the blink of an eye, our babies went from taking their first steps to being painfully close to walking right out our front door. 

Time flying on the California Delta

Prior to moving into our floating home, our two families spent a lot of time together, mostly on boats. We spent many nights on the dock drinking beer, pondering the meaning of life and spitballing our dreams for the future. As we rambled on and waxed poetic, something magical started to happen. We realized our dreams shared a similar theme, and by saying them out loud they started to take on a life of their own.

It is hard to say which was stronger at first…the desire to see all of the beauty and diversity that the world has to offer. The desire to show our kids that there are a million paths stretched out before them beyond just the obvious ones. There was a lot of excitement about all the places we wanted to go and all the tacos we wanted to eat. But our dreams were also fueled by a deep desire to slow down. The speed at which time was passing us by was mind blowing.  Whoever said, “The days are long but the years are short” could not be more right. At this stage it was all just glorified brainstorming - we still weren’t sure if we had the strength to spend 24 hours a day with our children, or the courage to cast off from our day jobs. 

It was March 2020 when the global pandemic hit and things took an unexpected turn for many. For us, it felt like an aggressive shove in the direction of our future. We were forced to face a lot of our fears head on, like homeschooling, and living / working as a family in very tight quarters. We also got a taste of what we were desperately longing for...time. 

And that taste was enough to move us to action. We simplified our lives. We consolidated. We sold cars and houses and gave away toys. We read books and watched a lot of youtube videos. We learned to sail. We did our research. We shopped for boats. We kissed many frogs (one of which caught fire - literally). And then one day, in December 2021, one of our offers was accepted. 

We said goodbye to people and pets that we loved - and boy oh boy, this is where the power of this dream was really put to the test. We packed up the things we couldn’t live without and we flew away from a life we loved - one that was predictable and steady for one that we hoped would push us and challenge us and teach us…about ourselves, each other and our planet. A life that would slow us down but also light us up. 

Bella, our beloved lab, passed away in the days before we left California. Janet Jackson, our Guinea Pig, lives on and is spoiled by his new roommate, Grandma.

We arrived in Cartagena, Colombia in January 2022 with a realistic amount of skepticism, a healthy dose of curiosity and just barely enough optimism to get us through the next six weeks of airbnb hopping, surveys and negotiations. In early February 2022, we finally closed on our Lagoon 560 Catamaran and began our lives as sailors. We have sailed from Colombia to Panama and are currently preparing to head through the canal and up to the Pacific Coast to the Sea of Cortez.

For all the juicy details, just keep reading…