We are a couple of University of Waterloo Grads that enjoy being on or near water, so we sailed off into the sunset.
Admiral Chrissy.
And Captain Jeff.
It all began in 2008 we bought a Hobie Cat Getaway when we finished university and a book to figure out how to sail it.
2 years later we had pushed that boat to its limits and on a whim upgraded to a Hobie Cat Tiger F18 racing catamaran and a more advanced book to further our sailing skills and provide a new challenge. A few bruises later we were having a blast and it be came clear there would be no cure for the sailing bug.
We also enjoy travelling so it was only natural that when we met the skipper of Adventure Sailing Plus at the 2011 Toronto boat show we signed up to challenge the CYA Basic cruising course and take the CYA Intermediate cruising course on a 41′ catamaran in the Virgin Islands 6 weeks later. We subsequently took the CYA Coastal Navigation by correspondance.
The day we arrived home from the Virgin Islands we picked up our new addition to the family, Magnus, an Icelandic Sheepdog who we affectionately refer to as ‘Adventure Dog’ as he is full of energy and will try just about anything with us.
Magnus has been a great addition to the family and absolutely loves spending time outdoors with us. Ultimately he contributed to the realization that sometimes work gets in the way of the work-life balance and his high energy levels made it clear whenever there wasn’t enough balance.
After nearly a year of looking at and researching boats we found Altera, a 1998 Hallberg Rassy that had spent her entire life in fresh water. By August 2012 we were the proud new owners and immediately took a vacation aboard.
In 2014 we added a whole lot of long range cruising gear and sailed from Georgian Bay to Toronto.
Then we crossed lake Ontario to NY state, lowered the mast, cruised the barge canals to the Hudson River and sailed downstream to New York City.
A coastal jump later we met up with the Salty Dawg Rally in Hampton, VA and did the 1500 nm trip to the British Virgin Islands.
The adventure continued through Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.
A quick jump the eastern seaboard to Martha’s Vineyard.
Then it was on to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and Cape Breton Island on the eastern Canadian shores.
Stay tuned as we have another caribbean winter planned with new destinations.
And now we have a very happy dog who is much more impressed with our work life balance.