You’re Doing What?!
On the plane to Grenada to check out what would become our new floating home!
Welcome to Our First Journal Entry!
This website chronicles our adventures aboard our 43-foot monohull sailboat, Remedy. It's a simple way for our friends and family—or anyone who's interested—to follow our wacky adventures.
But first, we want to go back to the beginning: how two mostly sane people decided to sell it all and sail away.
How It All Began
It all began in 2020 during the COVID-19 shutdown.
We had been married 12 years and were empty-nesters. Our son (Chrystie's stepson) was married and in the Marines. Two years prior, we had built our dream home in picturesque, historic downtown Greenville, SC. We were situated within walking distance of everything we loved: theater, delicious restaurants, quaint downtown shops, and both Falls Park and Unity Park.
Ken was working as a consultant, helping employers navigate healthcare law and establish employee benefits packages. I was the women's discipleship advisor for a large, multi-campus church. Our roots were deep. We both grew up in Greenville and had lived there our entire lives.
Ken was always ready for an adventure: scuba diving, backpacking, rock and ice climbing, and mountain climbing. His motto was "work hard, play harder." In 2019, he completed his biggest climb—a 20-thousand-foot peak in the mountains of Peru. I preferred my feet solidly planted on the ground. I had never learned to swim, hated heights, and was terrified of unseen things lurking in the water. My idea of a good time was delving into deep conversation over a good cup of coffee or reading a good book.
We had a good marriage—some might say great. But something was missing. Too often, we high-fived at night, going to bed exhausted from a day of work and ministry. We had few shared interests, and our passions kept us moving in different directions.
And then COVID hit. Everything came to a screeching halt with lockdowns in place.
A Hare-Brained Idea
With an unknown future ahead, Ken had a hare-brained idea: buy a small sailboat for an inland lake. I thought he was crazy—the uncertainty of that time was no time for unnecessary expenditures. Despite my initial misgivings, we ended up with a Beneteau First 265. She was a beauty. She had a small berth where we could sleep, an alcohol stove, a small cooler, and a place to sit. She was the perfect weekend getaway.
For the rest of 2020, we spent every weekend on the water. We would head out on a Friday afternoon, spend the whole weekend anchored in a quiet cove on Lake Keowee, and return on Sunday night.
Life slowed to a more manageable and human pace. My brain could finally unwind, and we connected on a much more meaningful level. We left the lake every Sunday, looking back on our floating retreat and longing for more time.
We had discovered a mutual interest that began our marriage adventure.
The Dream Takes Shape
During that first year, we discovered an entire world where people had made this a way of life—living aboard and working remotely while traveling. The hook was set, and we slowly began to investigate what it would look like for us to take our marriage adventure to the next level.
For over a year, we walked through our neighborhood every night after dinner, discussing what it could look like. Ken was ready to go all in. I really wrestled with the idea but couldn't deny how much I loved life on the water. Was it selfish? Irresponsible? Reckless? How could we leave family and friends? But we decided to take small steps and keep exploring the idea.
That began a series of small miracles—things too intentional to be coincidence. In a random conversation, we told some neighbors we might consider selling our home for the right price, but we weren't putting it on the market. By December 2021, we had a buyer. We just kept taking the next step, and the doors continued to open.
In March 2022, I resigned from my position on staff at our church—a decision that had been in the making for a while and was unrelated to our dream of buying a boat. In April 2022, we sold the house and everything we owned. We even sold all of our plants! Ken's coworker's mom had a fully furnished basement at an incredible price, so we moved in.
Finding Remedy
And then we found a boat. She was in Grenada, which was not ideal, but she was seaworthy and met our criteria. So we flew to Grenada to check her out and get her surveyed. After a full day with the owner and a surveyor, we debriefed over dinner. Was it crazy? Were we really going to do this? But after a short conversation, we decided to take the leap.
And that's when the adventure began.
