My Path of Inspiration ~ Part 1

French Polynesia - October 2013

So why & how did I come to the decision that I want to sail around the world? It’s kind of a long story but if you have time read on.

When I was little, about the age of 3, my dad started to get into sailing. We were out on the water & I was scared. My mom told me to look at a ship that was sailing a little in the distance. I looked & said, “Oooh Pirate Ship!”. The fact that seeing a pirate ship calmed me down is another story. But it did & I think I’ve loved sailing since then.

We didn’t have a boat but would go out with my parent’s friends, Jackie & Brian, on their boat. It was so fun & they are such great people. We’d go out of Dana Point Harbor in southern California so it was warm most of the time. I loved the smell of the sea, the sun, the movement of the boat. It was heavenly!

Then in my teenage years my dad bought a 19 ft. catamaran. It was a little different. There was no inside to the boat. You sit on the hulls & you’re very likely to get wet. Not as relaxing as the monohull I was used to being on. But I ended up loving it. You could pretty much touch the water while sailing & you could really feel the speed of the boat. Sometimes the windward hull would be out of the water when we were really flying. That freaked me out at first but then I enjoyed it so much. The only thing I didn’t love is that I had to wear a life jacket, as there’s a bigger chance of falling off the boat.

We mostly went out at Mission Bay in San Diego. I can remember those Saturdays very well. They were exciting! My sister & I would get up & get ready in our bathing suits & shorts. Our mom was always asking us to help her pack up lunches & other stuff into the van. -Which we more likely than not complained about. We each would get to invite one friend to come with us. I always claimed the very back of the van for my friend & I so we could look at the back window & make faces or do some kind of show for the cars behind us.

Then we’d wait for my dad to get the boat in the water. And once he was done getting the boat ready we’d jump on & went for a fun ride around the bay. We did have to go in shifts though. At the most, the boat could handle 4 people. 3 people was more ideal though. If I remember correctly, usually my dad would take my friend & me out for one sail & then the next sail he would take my sister & her friend out. I’m not sure when my mom got to go. I hope you got to go, Mom!

We’d have a picnic for lunch. I loved picnics because it was one of the few times we were allowed to eat chips & drink soda. Mmmmm…. Of course now I appreciate that my mom limited our access to tasty but crappy food.

So we’d sail almost all day & then pack up feeling happy for an enjoyable day & then drive home while the sun set. Sometimes we’d even stop for pizza on the way!

I’ll leave things there for now. But will continue with the story of my journey in the next day or so.

Thanks for reading!

~Kendall