My Path of Inspiration ~ Part 3

Matt & Me in French Polynesia - October 2013

After Catalina sailing, we started taking other sailing trips around the world with my family. My sister & her family live in the BVI. For their wedding we stayed on a 40+ foot catamaran & I loved it! The only catamarans I had been on was my dad's, which didn't have a cabin & catamarans at boat shows, which seemed like a dream. Going from a staying on a monohull to staying on a catamaran is like going from a studio apartment to a home! So much room & much more stable. There was only gentle bobbing at night instead of rolling.

In 2013 we went to French Polynesia with my parents & their friends: Jackie & Brian & Mary & Warren. This trip was heavenly! 2 weeks in aqua blue water, with lush green islands, snorkeling that I hadn't encountered since Fiji in 1987 & balmy weather. I definitely wanted to go back after leaving.

Then our last sailing vacation was in Greece in 2017. The Ionian Sea is beautiful. It was a really fun trip as it was not only my parents & us but also my sister, her husband, Colin - who is a master sailor & grew up on a sailboat, & my cousin Christi & her husband, Steve. It was a great crew! We sailed to a different island every day. Snorkeled, although there wasn't a lot to see. Ate great food, drank ouzo, Matt & Colin caught some harbor fish for an appetizer, hiked, saw a bunch of ruins & enjoyed each other's company. The boat we were on, a Lagoon 420 was perfect! It has been my favorite boat so far & now my dream boat. 4 cabins & 4 heads & 4 showers! It was just a perfectly laid out as far as the interior & exterior. -That's the interior designer in me talking & I do know that there is much more to a boat. Anyway, the time was wonderful, even if we had to motor a lot.

I knew after then that I wanted to keep chartering boats. However, we are not experienced enough to handle boats that big. I thought, well, if we don't have someone else that knows how to sail on board with us then we could always hire a skipper. So I just put it in the back of my mind. I would return to that thought after we made a trek to my dream destination for the last 10 years of Morocco!

And we are going to Morocco this year in October! -Just a few months after going to France in July. Of course a month ago I had to start planning for next year as I get blue & antsy if I don't have a big trip planned. So then we decided that we'd go to Belize & charter a boat. We have wanted to do this for a few years. We asked my sister & her husband to go & decided to treat my parents for all the times they have made it possible for us to go on such amazing vacations. Stoked to have 2 very good sailors be on board with us in the spring, the feeling that we'd really like to do some of the actual sailing & participate was gnawing at us.....

More to come in a couple of days!