FAQs

The reactions we’ve gotten from friends and family when we’ve told them of our plan has ranged from disbelief to extreme excitement. This is usually followed by a period of silence, then a lot of questions. Below are the most common, along with our responses:

1. Why would you want to do that? Sailing is fun, liberating, magical, and a wonderful way to spend time together with our family. We are looking forward to exploring new lands, and cultures, having unique adventures, and discovering more about the natural world around us.
2. Are you going to sell your house and things?  Short answer: Yes.  More details: We are going to sell our house around the time that we purchase the boat, hopefully without any need to stay in a hotel before the boat is available to us. Most of our things will be sold, given away, or stored (only sentimentally significant items), and the rest will go with us on Clarity.
3. Will you home school?  Short answer: Yes.  More details: We will enroll in a high school close to our marina, and if that works out, we’ll start home schooling at the time we leave the Bay Area to start cruising. If Ethan’s educational needs aren’t being met by a local high school, I’ll provide homeschooling for him.
4. How does Ethan feel about this? He’s concerned about leaving his friends, but understands that with the transition to high school, most of his friends will be going their separate ways anyway. He’s happy to be given the responsibility of naming the dinghy, but didn’t like that his first suggestion of Boaty McBoatface was vetoed by his parents.
5. Are the dogs going with you onto the boat? Foster and Guinness are old dogs, so we’re not sure they will live to see the move to San Francisco. But if they are around, they will be traveling with us to California and living in the marina on our boat with us. The same with our cruising – if they’re around, they’ll take off with us.
6. Why will the boat be named Clarity? We seek clarity through exploration, curiosity, research, and meditation. Plus, water that we glide through and play in and on should be clear.
7. Will you be traveling back to see family and friends? Short answer: Yes. More details: We don’t expect to have a reliable source of income while cruising, but we think we’ll be able to make a trip each year.