What about safety?

Our major safety equipment includes:

Lifejackets with harnesses (which keeps you attached to the boat) are worn at all times on deck when underway.  Kids wear lifejackets when on deck at all times.  They are so used to wearing lifejackets that sometimes they forget to take them off when we're ashore.

We have an inflatable liferaft which is outfitted with flares, water, food, etc.  It is kept on deck (uninflated and in a special case, of course).

Satellite phone will keep us in communication when at sea.

An EPIRB is an emergency GPS beacon that automatically notifies the coast guard in an emergency.

A fully stocked med kit with antibiotics, seasick meds, etc

Lots of water, lots of fuel.

A smart, experienced crew that can handle about anything.  Code is the kind of guy who can take a coat hanger and an gum wrapper and make a satellite dish.

Still worried (see FAQ about pirates....

Why now?

We started dreaming of this trip pretty much after purchasing our first boat, 10 years ago.  We learned to sail in the Cheasapeake on the Triple Play (affectionately known as the 'Windbreaker') which we co-owned with our good friends Ben and Liz.  We then moved to San Francisco where we REALLY learned how to sail on our current boat, the Why Knot.  At some point, Code set the arbitrary date of 2011, the year that he turns 40.  It was always something we talked about, sort of seriously, until this Christmas, when the reality hit:  this is the year that he turns 40 (22 July, by the way).  So, that meant it is time to go!

We both think that if you have a dream, the biggest thing to turn it into achieving that goal is to simply set a date. 

What is your route/itinerary?

Code and crew started from Deale, MD and will head to Bermuda, then the Azores, and will land in Lisbon.  The boys and I have one-way tickets to Lisbon 21 June.  We will head east along the Northern Med, we hope to winter over someplace either warm or, if we're so inclined, cheap (where we could rent a flat for a few weeks for a break).  The goal is to get to Turkey and explore the Black Sea.  We'll circle back stopping in N. Africa.  We'll cross the Atlantic (havent finalized that plan yet...) and then to the Carribean by late spring 2012, and home in July.  More or less...

Will the kids get bored in the middle of the ocean?

The kids wont be in the middle of the ocean, nor will Janet.  Code is doing the transatlantic leg with a crew of 5.  They'll scatter to the four winds once they make their destination.  The boys and I fly to Lisbon, and from there, we'll be coastal cruisers, staying at marinas along the way.  We think they'll be anything but bored.

Do you have a boat?

Yes.  Our boat is a 2000 36 foot Beneteau. We bought her in 2005 in San Francisco and brought her to Annapolis when we moved back east.  She's our second boat, and smells much nicer than the first!

Kids have the V-berth (in the bow) and Code and I are aft.  I wish it were bigger, but that is what everyone says.  There is a refridgerator, 2 burner stove, gas oven, and freezer -- even a microwave.  I am bringing my trusty hand blender (for smoothies and veggie soups).  My pressure cooker, though, is better than a microwave for oh so many reasons: beans, wheatberries, meats.  I am an evangelist about the pressure cooker.  Almost as much as I evangelize about yoga!

Why knot also has a head (toilet) and shower...but we've converted the shower stall to storage.  No worries, we will continue to bathe.  There are marina showers, an outdoor shower on the transom (stern), and we can still use the shower even with the storage.