Why did you guys chose a sailboat as your method of traveling around the world???

This may be the most common question that we have received. Below is an excerpt from a speech John gave at Cornell addressing this question.

Many people think it is great that we are traveling but they wonder why we decided to travel by sailboat. First off, we want to experience the world first hand, uninterrupted. Secondly, sailing is a unique way to travel, not many people choose it because of the long length of time it takes to get from place to place. Lastly, and most importantly, I made a promise to a friend, a true friend who would do anything for me as I would do for him.

As I said before I want to experience the world first hand, uninterrupted by work or family. Most of what I think I know about the world comes from books and school. Don’t get me wrong, Cornell is a great school; however, I want to hear, feel, and breathe the world that I have read about. The text in books isn’t anything like stepping foot on an island whose culture hasn’t been modernized by western civilization. I also hope to do a little soul searching and find what I really want out of life.

The nice thing about sailing is that you can go where you please whenever you want. If I find a place that I like I can stay there for 3 days or 3 months. I don’t have to worry about rent or food because I have my boat and the sea to shelter and feed me. Traveling by sailboat takes a lot of time because a typical cruising sailboat can cover about 160 miles a day, the distance you could travel in a car in less than three hours. All the extra time it will take to get from place to place doesn’t bother me. I don’t mind lounging around reading books in the warm equatorial sun or riding out storms all night. As long as there are no deadlines I don’t CARE.