Hi friend! Thanks so much for tuning in to this adventure!
For those who don’t know, Jeremy and I and the kids have been planning to have the kids out of school for a year of travelling ever since our kids were born. Years ago, we decided that we felt the ideal time would be when when our daughter Robin was in grade 7, and our son Gavin was in grade 5. At this age we felt that they would be old enough to be quite capable and independent, but young enough to still want to hang out with us for long periods of time (we hope!). It would also allow Robin to return to her Elementary school for the final year before going to high school and all the fun that goes with that year.
Well - THIS IS THE YEAR! We’ve decided that this blog will be the best way for us to keep our family and friends up to date with the day to day details, without bombarding social media completely.
This first post is to let people in on the high level of the plan for the year.
Background
Since Jeremy and I met, we have always had plans of getting into sailing. With the 2023 year being the planned departure year for our trip, the goal was to have a boat to practice with for 3 years in advance. In 2019, we bought a 26’ MacGregor with the intention of spending a year sailing with the kids. That fall, we started with a week sailing around Massassauga Provincial Park area on Georgian Bay and a two week trip to Florida sailing on the intercostal on the gulf side. Since then we have taken our Basic and Intermediate cruising courses for sailing, both with Larry and Sue from Diamond Water Sailing in Parry Sound - which we would HIGHLY recommend. We’ve also done VHF and Navigation courses - all gearing towards a full year of sailing. We’ve sailed (with a LOT of motoring) through the Trent'/Severn waterway and then on to Montreal. We’ve sailed to Little Current and back from 12 Mile Bay on Georgian Bay. We’ve trailored the boat to the Florida Keys and sailed around there.
In planning for the trip, the initial plan was to get a 40’ boat, cross the Atlantic (with a hired captain for at least one crossing) and sail in the Mediterranean, then return to the Caribbean from March - June. As this year has approached however, we’ve started to think about breaking the year up into different portions rather than only sailing the whole. There are lots of reasons why.
So our kids don’t hate sailing……and us.
To avoid the cost of a 40’ boat and instead use the one we have.
To break the trip up into different portions of activities we love so we don’t all go crazy.
The Current Plan
HOME SCHOOL THE KIDS:
We’ve had some practice with this in previous falls, but this year will be different. Other years the kids have still been registered in school and we’ve worked with the teachers to ensure they keep up on work in line with what their class is doing. This year, they are NOT enrolled in school and we’ve registered that we are homeschooling them. Our focus will be on Reading, Writing and Math. Since our travels will naturally include geography, science, social sciences, biology, navigation, fitness and who knows what else….we figure we’ll try to keep the formal education to a minimal amount of time.
SEPTEMBER: SAIL ON GEORGIAN BAY
Sail around Georgian Bay. This will be leisurely and without any specific destinations. It will be a chance to unwind after a busy summer, practice our homeschooling plans, swim, play music, and sail when we want. We’ve done lots of long days sailing, and our intent is to keep the goal oriented sailing to only as much as we all want to.
SEPTEMBER 30th: HEAD OF THE TRENT
This is a rowing race in Peterborough, Ontario that we attend every year. We race and volunteer and party and have a grand time.
OCTOBER - MID DECEMBER: HIKE AND BIKE IN EUROPE
We’re flying to Europe rather than the original plan to sail. We intend to spend some time in Scotland, England, France, Sweden, Germany and some trains in between.
MID DECEMBER - FEBRUARY: SKI IN ONTARIO
Home for Cross Country Ski Season. Our kids are part of the Arrowhead Nordic Ski program every year and we all love it. This year Robin will be volunteering as an L.I.T. so we plan to be in Muskoka on weekends to ski and then wherever else we can find for some fun nordic skiing. If you’d like to plan a winter adventure with us, we would LOVE it! This will be a time to catch up with family and friends and enjoy our beautiful winter.
MARCH-APRIL: SAIL IN THE BAHAMAS
We plan to trailer our 26’ MacGregor to Florida and sail to the Bahamas….that’s our plan for these two months in it’s entirety so far.
MAY-JUNE: ROAD TRIP AND BIKING
We are currently in the middle of the purchase of our very own 1993 VW Eurovan. We plan to do a road trip with our bikes on board. The plan is the west coast of the US and Canada - we’re hoping to get up to see friends in Whitehorse and Yellowknife by the end. Along the way we’d like to do some single day and multi day bike trips.
That’s the plan! If you are anywhere en route - we would love to come and see you. We are already planning to see lots of friends and family on the way and we’ve love to see you too. Our favorite part of travelling is sharing experiences with friends, new and old.