THE LONG WAY ROUND
The authors during a shoreside excursion in Martinique
Thailand’s Phang Nga Bay was one of many places the Griswolds visited during their trip; a statue of the Great Navigator in Cooktown, Australia (left)
Early one Wednesday morning in June 2016, we motored past Portland Head Light on our Valiant 42, Kite, and approached our mooring offthe Eastern Promenade for the first time in almost seven years. We were completing our circumnavigation, and while we were excited to be back in Maine and a little amazed that we had actually sailed around the world, we were also sad that the adventure was over. For several years, our lives had revolved around seeing new places and meeting new people, day aft er day. Now, as satisfying as it was to be home, we had to adjust to life on land.
When we first started thinking about serious cruising, our big question was whether we could and would cut the proverbial cord. We had good careers and a comfortable life. What was “our number,” the amount of money needed to safely quit our jobs? It would have been easy to stay in our routine, and we would have been happy to do that—just let that number keep growing and never act. But one day we came to the realization that running out of time, not money, was the thing to worry about. So, in 2007 we quit our jobs in New York, moved to Maine, went cruising and have never looked back.
We find that time slows down and focuses tremendously
