New book chronicles family’s adventure on the high seas

Most of us can relate to the fantasy of quitting our jobs and sailing off to paradise. But for Clayton residents April and Bruce Winship, that fantasy was something they not only dreamed, but also planned, saved for and accomplished in 2000.

They set sail with daughters Kendall and Quincy when they were 7 and 5, bound for an adventure of a lifetime aboard their 33-foot catamaran Chewbacca with no exact return date scheduled.

“As long as everyone agreed that we should keep going, that’s what we did,” Bruce explains. “It wasn’t always smooth sailing. Along with the challenges of keeping our boat and our kids safe on the open ocean, we were also wrestling with our new roles as sailors and homeschooling teachers.”

Their journey included cruising the waters of Mexico, Central American and South America for 10 years, returning because the girls decided they wanted to attend college in the United States and wanted some time at a U.S. high school to experience American culture first.

Starting small and simple

In the ’80s, April and Bruce were recent graduates living in Southern California when they joined a sailing club. They quickly found that racing wasn’t their thing, but they loved cruising.

They imagined buying a boat some day, retiring after 40 years and finally getting their chance to sail off to paradise. Then they heard a lecture by sailing pioneers Lin and Larry Pardey. Their message was: “Go small, go simple, go now.”

The Winships quit their jobs within three months, found jobs as crew members on a boat headed for Tahiti and spent two years “hitchhiking” their way through the South Pacific.

They had caught the cruising bug, so they returned to normal life and developed a plan. The couple scrimped and saved to buy their own boat and to invest enough to live off a monthly stipend while at sea.

They also started their family. When their girls got to the perfect ages for an adventure, they rented out their Clayton home, got their homeschooling books and prepared themselves with first aid classes and immunizations.

Learning along the way

They left San Francisco Bay in October 2000 with a cluster of other boats heading south. Upon arriving in San Diego after three tough weeks, they decided to continue despite the difficulty of adjusting to life without TV, refrigerators, hot showers or the Internet.

They spent a year in Mexico, sailing and anchoring in towns along the way. When they went south to Central America, the group of sail boats they would encounter dwindled to just a few. But that cruising community became their new extended family, and they all watched out for each other. Other sailors became the girls’ watercolor teachers or took them spear fishing. A retired veterinarian led biology labs.

The girls became prolific readers and fluent Spanish speakers. They studied the culture, history and the people of each country they visited. And, they learned the value of teamwork.

“When you are all depending on each other, for example, if you don’t tie your dinghy correctly it could be real trouble,” Bruce says. “You learn about consequences and collaboration. Everybody had to pitch in to make everything work.”

April describes idyllic days filled with reading, snorkeling and spear fishing and nights spent stargazing. “By far, the best part of cruising was the priceless gift of uninterrupted family time.”

Always planning ahead

But it wasn’t all idle days, she notes. “There was provisioning (food shopping) for six months at a time, laundry, banking, school lessons to prepare, boat maintenance and route planning and preparation when we decided to sail to the next destination.”

The family made their own bread and created homemade gifts for holidays. They had a toucan and a three-toed sloth as pets and also fostered a three-legged gecko and a hummingbird with a broken leg.

Through all the challenges, they had only minor injuries and a few scary near-accidents with the boat.

“We found paradise, but it wasn’t a point on a map – but rather paradise was the journey itself,” the couple reflects in their book, “Set Sail and Live Your Dreams” (Seaworthy Publications).

They want to share their experience with people interested in preparing for their own dream journeys and will speak at several REI stores in the Bay Area, including a presentation in Concord on Oct. 2.

“We hope our book will inspire others to launch an adventure of their own,” Bruce says. “Whether your dream is hiking Mt. Diablo, RVing across the U.S. or sailing around the world, seize it and go.”

For more photos and information, visit setsailandliveyourdreams.com.