After many years of preparation, Dave and Beth Mortell bought a catamaran and took off with their daughter Landon and their two dogs. But tragedy struck early and they lost their boat to a fire in The Bahamas. Instead of giving up the dream, they bounced back, bought a Leopard 45 and took off from Florida again, sailing the Caribbean, Panama, and the South Pacific. They were in New Caledonia when I interviewed them.
We talk about New Caledonia, clearing in to the Loyalty Islands, Sail Time and learing to sail, starting a boat fund with $200, kids on a boats, homeschooling, international travel, getting rid of stuff in order to leave land for good, monohulls and catamarans, comfort vs speed, if boats have souls, sailing with a schedule, working with a weather router, heaving-to in a catamaran, heavy weather, a boat that hit a whale and sank, life rafts, loosing their first catamaran to a fire, deciding to buy another boat and try again, bouncing back, confidence, kid boats, finding your people, making friends while cruising, loneliness and community, favorite passages, finding growth outside our comfort zones, and more.
Photos and links are on the podcast shownotes page
Support the show through Patreon
Shop for or sell sailboats at SailboatsForSale.com
Get marine electrical help from Meridian Marine Electrial
Shop LED navigation lights at Signal Mate
