About Us

Books!

Introduction to Water

Nikki, the dolphin, (we dubbed her Nikki from the nick on her dorsal fin) is a regular visitor to Elizabeth Harbor in Georgetown, Exuma. She often dropped by to scratch her back on our anchor rode or for an afternoon of play with the children. We assumed with her easy-going spirit that she had been released from captivity. The more noise we made, the better she liked it. We taught the kids to be gentle around her and respect her space. Niki seemed totally comfortable with human playmates.

All kids need a pet. Our canine Schipperke provided companionship, and served as a watchdog for the boat.

Secure Netting

Use of Life Jackets

Fun and Games

Learning to swim at a young age turned our boys into avid divers. Saturday mornings were spent diving for lobsters. We taught them to respect sealife by only taking what we could eat for a couple days and leave the rest for mother nature.

Shark fishing with Mom was one of their favorite early morning expeditions. We held group potlucks with friends to savor the grilled shark.

Hunters of the Sea

Read, read, read. Instead of a TV or VCR (back in those days), we entertained our sons with their own imaginations.

Homeschooling lessons were from 8-noon, and until 2pm when older.

Responsibilities and Chores

Painting the giant fishermens' anchor when hauled out.

Snorkeling with Dolphin Nikki

Playing games in shallow water was a good introduction to feeling comfortable about the sea. We didn't allow shark movies or scary stories around them and kept it fun and safe. When new children arrived in the harbor, we invited the family over to get to know them and set up play dates the following day. New parents appreciated it and many remain close friends of ours to this day.

Windsurfing after 5 hours of homeschooling provided a release for their ample energies. Later in their teens, they competed in the International Windsurfing Competiton, held in Aruba. Each placed 3rd in their category.

Summers were spent seeking shelter from impending hurricanes by sailing south to the Caribbean, while exploring the Dominican Republic along the way.

Understanding foreign cultures impacted our sons by having more tolerance. Spanish became fun to learn. Other children were befriended on cruising boats for company, and sometimes ashore, when we were able to linger in port.

Dodging Hurricanes

Allan's Cay, Bahamas. The boys fed wild iguanas leftover fruits and vegies.

In the Dominican Republic, we walk through dripping rain forest studded with exotic, fragrant flowers. Unziping our backpacks, we pull out our picnic lunch after a cool dip beneath the cascade.

When walking to town to the Farmer's Marekt, we often stop to meet and chat up the local kids, Dominican children are some of the friendliest in the world. It's a good chance for the boys to practice their Spanish.

Cultivating Family Ties

To cultivate ties with extended family members while the boys were still young, we sailed north each summer to the U.S. East Coast.

Colorado Cabin
with cousins

Grandmother in Florida

With Grandpa and Grandma in North Carolina. Cousins too.

Standing day watches at an early age with Dad while under sail.

Canine Buddy

Into the Waters

Into the
Water

Growing
Up

Cruising the West Indies

Dodging Hurricanes

Family
Ties

Adam's first lobster, caught at age 6 1/2-years-old, at Staniel Cay, Exuma, Bahamas in twelve feet of water. The 'crab' (Bahamian slang) was nearly half his size and not hard to miss. It was motionless atop a large coral head in good light. Since the boys had been diving with us as soon as they could swim, Adam knew what to do. He'd been practicing on spearing tin cans in the water.

Shark Fishing with Mom

Sports & Competition

Crafts

Natural Studies

Model sailboats were crafted to participate in the annual Cruising Regatta childrens' events.

Samana, Dominican Republic

Trek to Market

Waterfalls and Rainforest

In the islands, the kids played beach tag with the locals. Sometimes it's rough, but always in good cheer. It's good for them to learn to adapt and get along with a wide variety of people.

About Us

What started out as a brief winter cruise to the Bahamas after our honeymoon, turned into a lifetime of extended cruising. Every year kept getting better and better, until we couldn't find a reason why we needed to return home to an ordinary life of working hard to buy more stuff. When the kids came, our concepts and perspectives about life had evolved into finding a meaningful pursuit to daily life. Once we dumped all the stuff in storage back home, we could afford living off sea and cruising: no cars, no mortages, no senseless shopping for unecessary items. Everything we owned was on our boat.

When we started our family, we discovered the joys of homeschooling. Grade school led to Jr. High School, then our world circumnavigation. Things got so good, it got out of hand, until that, too, became our 'new normal'. Our sons graduated from High School and went on to attend trade schools and college. Sinc the beginning, we never looked back. It just kept getting better and better.

My intent with these web pages is to convince you that you too, can do it, and how. It's that life transforming.

The Early Years

Child Playmates

Growing Up

Island Play

Early
Years

the Early Years