HEADING FOR HAWAII
In September 2004, Bruce Halabisky and Tiffany Loney sailed from Victoria BC bound for Hilo, Hawaii, in their 1952 Atkin-designed 34ft gaff cutter Vixen. Eleven years later they have two daughters as crew and have received the coveted Blue Water Medal of the Cruising Club of America for their circumnavigation. Their website is www.vixensvoyage.com and a visit is a tonic in a world grown cynical for many under the pressures of modern materialism.
The boat herself is entirely individual, making the family immediately recognisable in any anchorage, but she does more than that. She is an advertising hoarding for the happiness that grows from keeping life simple. Technically, she is a throwback to an earlier, more innocent age, but lest anyone should imagine she is diminished by this, a read of Bruce’s arguments in favour of wooden boats, classic hulls and gaff rig on Vixen’s site soon dispels any such misconceptions.
But the bottom line must go to the children. Their younger daughter has the last word in this blog lifted directly from the site. They had just made the 41-day passage from Central America to complete the circumnavigation in Hawaii. Her remark tells us all we need to know about people getting life right.
Panama to Costa Rica
“Tiffany and I had decided to break up the trip to Hawaii by heading to
