We’re two people who have sold (almost) everything we had, bought a boat, and left home to sail around the world. We created this blog page primarily to keep our friends and family updated on our location and to let them know we’re not dead. That being said, we also want to try to pass on useful information to anyone interested in cruising life. We plan to share honest info about our experiences, in hope that you’ll find something interesting, useful, or at least mildly entertaining. If you’ve stumbled upon this page accidentally, welcome to the family and feel free to stick around! We hope you find something you like.
Just like all things in life, plans change. If you asked us two years ago how far we were going, the answer was “all the way around!”. Ask us now? We’ll be lucky to make it back home from Baja, ha ha. It was a rocky ride down the coast of Baja. The weather was rough (for us), anchoring in 30 knot winds, smoke in the engine room (twice) and then losing our transmission off the coast of Cabo. What could be next??? Time to go back home? Honestly, after several heart to hearts, weighing pros and cons (a lot of cons), we’ve decided that we’ve put way too much into this and come too far to give up – we are going to go as long and as far as we can before throwing in the towel. If this interests you in the least, join us through our trials and tribulations. During our travels we promise to:
Be honest. We’re not pros, far from it. We’ll be upfront about our skills and experience.
Be brave. We’ve had scary moments and wanted to give up, but we will push ourselves to face our fears, persevere, and overcome the challenges.
Be grateful, gracious, and giving. We have a genuine curiosity to learn about the people and places we’re traveling to. We’ll be kind, respectful, and appreciative. During our journeys, we hope to leave more than we take.
Thanks for reading and hope you don’t mind a little honesty!
Who We Are
Mike’s Story
I’m Mike. A lifelong adventurer, I’ve tried just about everything, but I’m totally new to sailing. My previous passions have included surfing, rock climbing, mountaineering, and dirt bike racing. In the late 90s I backpacked throughout Mexico, surfing all the spots from Todos Santos, Baja to Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca, then traveled to Bali, Indonesia where I caught the waves of my life. My rock climbing and mountaineering days lead me to places like Yosemite Valley and Mt. Whitney. My moto highlights include racing in the 50th anniversary of the Baja 1000, iron-manning the 20th Vegas to Reno “the long way” race, and earning my district jacket in the D38 desert series. I’m a licensed carpenter and hold a fiber-optic Bicsi level 3 technician certification…but until now, I had never been on a boat.
Shannon’s Story
Hi, I’m Shannon! Growing up, I was your basic run o’ the mill girl, I guess. Not too adventurous, loved my family, blah, blah, blah. I was introduced to sailing by my Uncle Bob and in my early 20s, joined him and his family on a sailing trip down the Eastern US Coast. I’ve dreamed of setting out on my own boat ever since, but over the years, I let all the usual reasons stop me: work, family, friends, school, relationships. Honestly, I think life has a way of making us believe we can’t really live out our dreams. It seems to me there are thousands of reasons not to go for what you want, and you really just need one good reason to go ahead and do it. We all have to find our own reason and I finally found mine. Here’s hoping you find yours!
Our Story
We both grew up in San Diego and met in 2010. After 7 ½ years of moto racing, Shannon said to Mikey “hey, when’s it my turn?”. After some convincing, we took some lessons, sold the house, and bought Marissa. We’ve lived on Marissa for 2 years, getting her ready and now, in 2021, we’ve quit our jobs, sold our cars, and are finally on our way.
Track Us Live
Wondering where we are right now? Check out our live tracker at Marissa’s Tracker .
