The Next Step

Saoirse and I left Vancouver, Canada in October of 1999 knowing almost nothing of the sea and what she held in store for us. Since then we've been knocked down, stranded on a reef, sailed 40,000 miles, gone places I never could have dreamed with all kinds of different people, most who ended up friends, some maybe not so…friendly, but it's all been an incredible adventure. That adventure is about to end…or begin, depending on which way you look at it. For some time now the desire to keep going at all costs has clouded the reason I came out here in the first place- to discover new places and things while also plying the more intangible waters of my own self. As I used to tell my Outward Bound students on our mountain courses, it's not about reaching the top, but enjoying the journey. The journey to date has been an eclectic mix of happiness, fear, struggle, ecstasy, conflict- and I have most definitely enjoyed the ride, but it's time to begin another challenge, another journey. I have decided to sell our pride and joy Saoirse. She has proven a strong, willing and able companion over the years and most people who know me will be shocked to learn I'm letting her go, but the winds of change have beset the crew of Saoirse in a very exciting way. Offshore Odysseys is moving on to something we can put equal pride and energy into and still stay out of the office, which has been the goal all along!

For the past two season's Jody and I have become quite fond of kitesurfing and I have been sucked headlong into the underwater world of spearfishing. We've toyed with the idea of operating our business with a large catamaran instead of a monohull simply because they are a better platform to house guests and gear. And we've both wanted to get out of the business of charters and into the business of running expeditions. Kite places no one's ever flown, dive on pinnacles no one has ever found, surf breaks inaccessible to crowds on land. With the help of a very enterprising friend named Jon Imhoof in New Zealand we've come up with a way. We're calling it Catamaran Share and the details can be found on our website. For any of you looking for a good way to sail the earth and have some incredible adventures along the way, have a look.

An interesting subplot to all this new activity is a bit of an adventure that didn't quite get carried out. For those of you who followed Luke Henderson and me to Cape Horn a few months back you may remember I left Luke in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world to sail solo1500 miles back up to Buenos Aires. This he did with aplomb which was far from an easy task. His yacht, Shangri-la now lies in Santos, Brazil, about 3600 miles from St. Barts in the Caribbean which is its eventual destination, at least in the short term. I've yet to do a long passage solo so this seemed a perfect opportunity. So my New Year's resolution for 2006 is going to be not going crazy living on a boat with no one but myself for company for 5 or 6 weeks, or however long it takes me to get an awfully long way.

For any of you interested in going offshore, Saoirse is one of the finest cruising yachts available and Thailand couldn't be a better place to start a world journey. It is with bittersweet emotions that I am formally ending the adventures of Saoirse and her crew, but the Captain's Logs will continue and I hope all of you who have stayed with us over the years will stay with us for a few more to come.

Phuket, Thailand January 2006