Newly Salted: An Interview with the RoundAbout Crew at 6 months

Newly Salted: Interview with the crew of Roundabout at 6 months

Roundabout Crew!

Meet the RoundAbout Crew: Hello! We are Jared, Stefanie, Matthew, Zachary, Cadence, and Sunshine (Sunny). We are a family of 5 who ditched suburbia for a sailboat to explore the world. Along with our salty sailing pup, we are adventuring while living life afloat. We have been cruising for 6 months now in the Mediterranean and are working our way west towards crossing the Atlantic. You can follow the adventure on our blog and facebook page.

RoundAbout is a 2012 Leopard 46 catamaran. She is the 4 cabin version, so there is plenty of room for our family. We made quite a few modifications, such as adding new tech equipment, water maker, washing machine, and the kids’ favorite, a swing. 

Roundabout at anchor off Hydra Island, Greece.

How did you get started with sailing and why did you decide to untie the dock lines?

Jared and I had a little hobie cat 16 before we were married and you’d often find us out on a lake somewhere sailing that boat! We both love the outdoors and brought up our kids this way. They were sailing babies from the start and grew up accompanying us on races or just out day sailing in the Monterey Bay for fun. We would travel a little throughout the year, with maybe one big trip here and there. With work and school schedules, it just didn’t allow for much in the way of traveling. This is one of the reasons why we decided to make a change in our lives.

Our motivation: This trip was 10 years in the making. It started out as a dream and over the years we slowly worked towards making it a reality. Then, the summer of 2016, Jared was hospitalized. For a few days, doctors didn’t know what was wrong. That was one of the scariest moments of our lives and we decided right then, we would make this sailing adventure happen no matter what. That was what really got the ball rolling. We immediately began to sell off things we didn’t need and finished remodeling the house. About a year later, we had sold the house, most of our possessions, and were on our way.

We road-tripped across the US before moving onto our boat in the BVI. We had lived aboard for only 5 days before two category 5 hurricanes destroyed it. Fortunately, we were insured and were able to start over, despite being in a totally different ocean! 

Roundabout Crew!

What are your plans?

The plan? Sailors have a saying: plans are written in the sand at low tide. We had planned on starting from the Caribbean and look where that got us. So for now, we are sailing around the Greek islands until June and will then head up to Croatia for awhile (we need to check out of the Schengen Zone for a bit). From there, we will work our way west to cross the Atlantic Ocean back to the Caribbean for the winter and transit the Panama Canal in the spring. From there, it is on to the South Pacific.

Sailing between islands

What do you like the most about living on a sailboat and the cruising lifestyle?

It is definitely a much slower paced lifestyle and involves less stress. The freedom to spend our time as we choose, without being tied to a schedule is amazing. We look forward to exploring each new place and immersing ourselves in new cultures. It’s the magic of this lifestyle. Living on a sailboat means we take our home with us wherever we go. No packing or worrying about what to bring; we just haul anchor or untie the lines and we’re off! While sailing, we can walk around, make food, exercise...it’s a much less restrictive method of traveling.

Sunsets and sunrises never get old!

What do you find most challenging about living on a sailboat and the cruising lifestyle?

Living on a boat means there are limits to everything; hot water, storage, power...we have definitely learned a lot about conservation, much more so than living on land (and we really were conscious about our global footprint then). 

Another challenge is the weather. Sailing means you can’t always just pick up and go when you want. We are constantly checking the weather to ensure we are safe and in a good spot. If the winds change, we may need to change our location. Sometimes, we can go a week without having to worry about hauling anchor, but usually we are moving every few days. In extreme weather, we go tie up in a port until it blows over.

Finally, missing our family and friends back in California. We stay connected digitally and with occasional phone calls or emails. Sometimes, we have some visit us, and we absolutely treasure those moments.

Relaxing during a down-wind sail.

What is something you think potential cruisers are afraid about that they shouldn’t fear?

Of all the fears out there, I think dragging anchor and damaging the boat is at the top. This was one of my (Stef’s) fears, and it took me until about now to finally sleep through the night while at anchor. We swapped out our old Delta 55 for an 85lb Mantus which made a huge difference. It is important to invest in good ground tackle. It makes it easier to trust it. A good anchor alarm program also helps (we use the one that came with our chart plotter software). 

Apollo's Temple. Aegina, Greece.

Is there something you wish you would have brought with you that got left behind?

Our SUP boards! We left ours in storage because we had so much stuff packed already. We figured we would just buy new ones when we got to the boat. So far, we have not had any luck (things are super expensive over in the Med), but with summer approaching, we are hopeful to score some used ones. We really love SUP boarding and windsurfing, so we are on the hunt!

Even Sunny loves paddleboarding!

How have you been able to finance this cruising lifestyle?

We sold our house and most everything we owned to finance this adventure. Jared is a civil engineer and can work from anywhere (he is self-employed). I am on sabbatical from my school district, but I provide STEM education classes for kids and  work as an educational consultant occasionally, for schools, teachers, and parents. 

Sketching and taking notes in a museum. Worldschooling!

How do you handle the education and socialization of your children?  

We are worldschooling our kids with some of the traditional curriculum thrown in. I am a teacher, so I use what I normally would in my classroom. The benefit of travel, is we really get to learn about the culture and history—this really brings learning to life! Living afloat also provides many hands-on learning opportunities, such as navigation, geography, mechanics, and many other important life skills. I share some of these resources on our education page. 

As far as socialization goes, we try to meet up with other traveling families as often as we can. There are a few sailing family groups that we belong to and it is easy to meet up with someone from there, as long as the timing works out.

Their favorite place to hang out.

How do the kids feel about their life aboard?  

They love this life! The freedom and fun in exploring new places is one of their favorite aspects of traveling. They are involved with our planning and enjoy choosing places to visit. You will often find them fishing or swimming around the boat. On the flip side, they do miss their friends and family. 

Lots of fun when we find other kids! Delos, Greece

What have been some of the highlights so far?  

There have already been so many! We love experiencing new things, especially food. The anticipation of arriving to a new place is a great feeling. Exploring and just getting lost wandering the streets, leads to so many new discoveries. Also, meeting new people and making new friends around the world. 

Fiskardo bay, Kefalonia Greece

Montenegro

En route!

We sailed from Corfu straight to Bar, Montenegro. It was our first continuous and overnight sail, which totaled to about 24 hours and about 180 nautical miles. The trip was mostly uneventful, with calm seas and light wind for the majority of the journey. Jared and I traded shifts every few hours.

We started out motoring with the jib out. After most of the day with very light winds, we had enough to justify putting up the main. We averaged 6-7 knots into the evening and put in a reef as the sun set. Around 1am the winds picked up so we sped up to 8-9 knots. 3:30am found us bashing into sloppy seas (where did they come from?), so we reefed the jib a little to slow down the bashing.
As the sun rose at 4:45am, Matthew woke up to tell us his room was drenched with sea water. There was a couple of bucket fulls of water in the starboard bilge. It turns out the hatches were vented and not closed all the way. The port front cabin was also drenched. This would all have to wait until we were tied up to a dock though, as we needed to focus on entering the harbor.
After hailing several times, we decided to just tie up to the customs dock (you can go to the marina to handle paperwork, but since no one answered our call, we didn’t feel like we could just assign ourselves a berth).

We entered the commercial port around 8am and saw the customs dock next to the ferry area.
We found a spot between two coast guard boats to tie up, and a few minutes later, a customs officer greeted us and gave Jared directions to the harbor master’s building. I spent the next hour taking everything out of both front cabins, rinsing in fresh water and set to dry in the sun on the trampoline, lifelines, and jib sheets.  What a sight we must have been! I also had amassed a huge pile of laundry and got the machine going. In between that, I washed down the cabins with fresh water and vinegar and dried it all thoroughly (do not want mold anywhere). This included everything under the beds and taking bucketfuls of water out of those storage areas, as well as out of the bilge. With the hot sun, things dried rather quickly.

After getting a permit to cruise for one month (104 euros to cruise for 1 week or 174 for one month), Jared went to the customs office to show our permit and get stamped into the country. Turns out, Montenegro just scans the passports and does not stamp them anymore.

We left the customs dock for the marina around 9am. Tried hailing the marina office on the way in and they answered (office hours are 9am-1pm). After receiving our berth assignment, we motored over, took up the lazy lines, and were soon plugged in to shore power (air conditioning!) Ah, it felt so nice to have a/c! For 100 euro per night, we had unlimited power and water. I planned on taking full advantage of this! We usually anchor out, but it was so worth it to have a good night’s sleep and get all the cleaning done.

Painted streets.

I went to work doing several loads of laundry, as we had to clean all of the bedding, toys, and other items that were drenched in salt water. It ended up taking all day for this task but felt great to have it all done. We cleaned up the boat, washed her down with fresh water, and filled the tanks using our filter.

Waves!

The next couple of days were spent exploring the town of Bar. There are lots of shops, restaurants, and activities for families. We visited a little carnival, walked through a little nature park, and learned about some new fruit.

Produce market.

Landscaped gardens everywhere!

Walking through a park and playground.

We set sail for Budva early on Sunday afternoon, as we wanted to get out of the expensive marina (though it was so nice to have all the amenities close by). We anchored in a nearby bay, but our chain was in danger of wrapping around the large underwater rocks. After trying a few other spots, we called it and set out along the coast. We poked in to several other bays, but found the bottom to either be comprised of mud and not the best holding or entirely rocky. The bay near the luxury resort of Sv. Stefan would have been wonderful, except it was not protected with the winds and the boats already anchored looked as if they were on rocking horses! That's how we ended up at Budva bay.

Budva bay.

A large island provides two entrances into this bay and it is split in half by a very shallow reef. The reef is marked on the charts but nothing is physically marking it. We nosed around the south side of the bay, but it seemed the popular place for jet skis and small power boats to practice their donuts in. We skirted around the island and went into the northern half of the bay. There, just beyond the marina and the channel, we anchored in about 7m of water. We hit a nie sandy patch amongst the tall sea grass and settled in to enjoy the show. It was quite the show! Colorful umbrellas and beach chairs covered every inch of the sand. Restaurants blasted out music, competing for customers over their playlists. Power boats, jet skis, water skiers, paddle boarders, and parasailers cavorted around the bay. It was quite bumpy in the anchorage! If you like quiet and solitude, this bay is NOT for you. The music went until around 5am.

The next morning, after breakfast and a quick dip to cool off, we hauled anchor and sailed into the Bay of Kotor. There are a few anchorages along the way we added to our 'must explore' list, but at present, they were full to the brim with day tripper boats.

Entering Kotor. Croatia owns the peninsula on the left.

You pass part of Croatia on your port as you enter the bay. Kotor has three basins and is one of the largest fjords in the world! We sailed into the middle basin and stern tied to shore. This would provide a good base for exploring a deserted resort that is rumoured to be on the island we are tied to. According to one of our sailing friends, this resort looks very much as if the people just up and vanished. Type writers still have memos in mid-composition, notes tacked to the corkboard, furniture still in place, and rooms left as if the guests had merely stepped out for a bit. Fact is, everyone was told to evacuate immediately and were not allowed to return (impending war).

On my list is to procure the 777 Adriatic pilot guide, as these books are chock full of history. You really get a feel for the place if you know a little of its background. I'll be able to elaborate a bit more on the blog, after reading it.

Last days in Greece

Cave near Fiskardo, Kefalonia.

Itea is a great base to explore Delphi. It is an abandoned marina and that means free! We tied up Roundabout and set off to find a bus or taxi to the top of the mountains.

Delphi is an extremely beautiful place. If only we had more time to spend! We had a few hours and could have easily spent an entire day. However, we needed to make a provisioning run and sail to the island of Trizonia before nightfall.

Delphi

Trizonia is a lovely island with grassy meadows and lush pine forest. There is a small marina there, as well. We spent a peaceful night and explored a little of the surrounding islands before setting off for the large port town of Patras. The starboard air conditioning unit needed servicing and despite our best attempts to do it ourselves, we decided it was time to call in the professionals.

Sunset over Trizonia island.

Lovely scenery.

At anchor off Trizonia.

About 10 minutes after tying up to the quay, a man appeared from a yacht service agency. In less than an hour, we had a team repairing the air conditioner. They finished a couple of hours later and so after 100 euros and a big 'thank you', we settled in for the night.

3am found us up and exiting the harbor, setting sail for the island of Zakythnos. We had a pretty good run out of the Gulf of Patras and down to the island. We anchored off Shipwreck Beach and enjoyed a couple of hours there before the swell picked up.

We sailed over to the island of Kefalonia and anchored off a nice beach. After some swimming and dinner, we were treated to another music and fireworks show!

Music and fireworks on the beach. Anchored out, we had front row seats!

Fiskardo, Kefalonia Greece

Dinghy inside and then go ashore and explore.

Lots of tunnels to follow.

That water!

A new favorite anchorage.

Next morning we sailed on up to Fiskardo Bay to meet up with Plan B. We anchored in the bay and stern tied to shore. We really enjoyed our time there, as the water is gorgeous and there are so many things to do! We went on a neat hike and explored a nearby cave. With a weather window opening, it was time to sail up to Lefkada and source some parts in Lefkas town.

Sailing through the channel was a bit precarious, as lots of charter boats were exiting the time we were about ready to enter. It was no less than 30 boats all single file! Approaching Lefkas, we were a bit worried about finding a spot, but fortunately, we timed it right. We met up with two other sailing families, acquired some parts, and then set off for the island of Corfu.

Corfu is the last Greek island and our final port of call in this country. We spent two nights in Gouvia bay, again next to our friends on Plan B. They have a similar itinerary. Checking out was a breeze and we spent the rest of the time at the pool and swimming in the bay. We were fortunate enough to meet up with yet another sailing family, although they were on their way south for the season.

We set sail for Montenegro around 8am and waved goodbye to  Greece.

Taking down the Greek courtesy flag as we sail towards Montenegro.

Corinth Canal

NE anchorage on Aegina. Loved it here!

We left Aegina for the island of Salamina to top up our fuel tanks before transiting the canal. From there, we made great time with speeds between 10-11 knots! Somewhere along the way, we went through a swarm of flies, which occupied the rest of our trip. The kids and I went to battle, killing over 100 flies (seriously, that is not an exaggeration). It wasn't just us either, as our friends on Plan B, also had a fly invasion. It took about three days to eradicate the little buggers.

Fueling up.

We anchored in the bay at the eastern entrance to the canal and settled in for the night. While the canal functions 24/7, we wanted to wait for daylight for photos and to get a good look at what our money was buying us. Not only did this save us time and 150 nm, it was also a nice piece of history to observe.

Entering the canal.

The following morning, we dinghied over to pay 200 euro and complete the paperwork. An hour later, we were going through the canal. It is about 3 miles long and is full of interesting things to see, such as landscaped flower beds, waterfalls, and little caves. The sunlight makes the water glow a neon blue in spots. The canal was started by the French and completed by the Greeks in the late 1800s. Before its construction, ships were rolled over the isthmus to the other side.

Little waterfall.

We had smooth seas into and through the canal. Upon exiting, it was chaos! Winds around 30 knots and very choppy seas. We motored for about 12nm. After that, it was calm and smooth as glass out in the gulf. We had enough wind to sail and set course for Galaxidi to the anchorage near the town. Music was going as we arrived. We dropped the hook and had a nice dinner listening to the music. Next day, we sailed over to the old harbor of Itea to tour the sanctuary of Delphi to consult the oracle (all about that in the next post).

Galaxidi

Island Hopping Around Greece

Made it to the top of the Minoan site! Amorgos, Greece.

From Crete, we made quite a few hops along the island chain. We stopped at Astipalaia, Amorgos, Koufonisia, Naxos, Mykonos, Delos, Rhenia, Paros, and Antiparos.

Dolphin at the entrance to Astipalea lagoon.

Astipalaia was our least favorite, due to all the trash. This island had trash dumps on every beach, and while it had a reputation for its lagoon, it was nowhere near what Spinalonga was like. We spent two nights here until we had a good enough weather window to head to Amorgos.

Amorgos was better. The guide book mentioned it was an excellent fishing spot and known for dolphins visiting. We tossed out the fishing line and no sooner had the dolphins paid a visit, we had a fish on the line! It made for a delicious dinner and lunch the following day. 

Our first fish caught aboard Roundabout while on passage

We anchored in a few places, saw bioluminescence at night, and weathered a windstorm in the port. We were invited to a traditional Greek wedding ceremony and hiked up to an ancient Minoan site. 

Climbing to the top of the Minoan site. Amorgos, Greece

From there, we were scheduled to meet up with some other sailing families, so we hopped over to Naxos for a night and then on up to Mykonos.

Temple of Apollo on Naxos.

Temple of Apollo and little cave at Naxos.

We met up with the crew of Wiz and Aleasea. All the kids had a blast playing together. After weathering out another meltemi (wind storm), we hopped over to Delos to explore the ruins. Wow, what an amazing place! This was our most favorite ancient site of all. It is expansive and you need at least two days to explore everything.

More kid fun!

Pondering the ruins at Delos.

A temple at Delos. This tree marks the exact spot where Apollo and Artemis were born (at the sacred lake).

Dolphin mosaic at Delos.

Lots of furry friends at Delos.

From Delos, we spent a night on Rhenia and then sailed back to Paros to meet up with another kid boat, Abaco. Having four kid boats together was awesome. We hiked, played, and enjoyed each other’s company. Such fun times! 

All the kids hanging out around Roundabout and the other kid boats. Rhenia anchorage near Delos.

Our fleet sailed over to AntiParos to explore the cave and met up with yet another kid boat, Wildest Dreams. That night we had a fun beach potluck. Cadence and a friend made cupcakes to celebrate one of the other kiddo’s birthdays, lavender swirled vanilla cupcakes with lavender frosting. Yum!

Antiparos cave field trip with all the boat kids!

Boat kids from s/v Roundabout, Abaco, Alesea, and Wiz (Wildest Dreams arrived later that day).

Making cupcakes as a birthday surprise.

Another meltemi was coming, so our fleet went back to Paros to ride it out. The crew of Abaco went with us to take windsurfing lessons. That was a great day and so much fun! IF you are ever near Paros island, check out Paroskite.gr. You can anchor in the channel between Paros and Antiparos to take lessons at the school or check out their gear. I found a new wetsuit for Cadence and I for a great deal. George G. is the owner and is very nice. 

Learning how to windsurf.

In the end, we all had to go our separate ways. Two were going to Turkey and the rest of us were heading west. The kids really loved hanging out with other kid boats and spent most of each day playing in the water or swimming from boat to boat. It's hard to leave such fun times, but we've got to make tracks towards Croatia!