ABOUT US
Your first thought in reading this is probably "ah...these two are smack bang in the midst of a mid-life crisis". We are but it's been a long time in the making.
The idea to be liveaboards was something we talked about doing from the beginning, but with small children, bills, jobs, life in general, it became something we discussed sporadically as a plan for the distant future and it seemed like a monumental thing to achieve. Fast forward 17 years and here we are, no longer in the future but actually making it happen. There are a few reasons for doing this now - we have felt for a while that we have been working to maintain "stuff". We wanted a simpler life with fewer things so we could enjoy more experiences, get out from behind a desk and live life instead of living vicariously through others.
We can't even describe how liberating it was to be bold and throw out that box of miscellaneous receipts from 1989 that we've lugged all over the country and shoved in a back corner of a garage 6 different times. Sadly, there are also those who are our age that are no longer able to even think about doing something like this because of illness and in some cases have passed on. Darrin's favorite saying is "We can make more money but we can't make more time." With each passing year time seems to go by faster and faster and the truth of that saying becomes more meaningful, so we feel we should do this now while we can because there will come a time when we can't - hopefully way later than sooner.
Darrin is a software developer, mountain climber, sailor from way back, all round great guy and skipper. He knows how to work the chartplotter really well and is interminably patient when Linda asks for the eight hundredth time how to turn on the battery charger.
Linda is an admin, expat aussie, novice sailor, fair cook and chief bottle washer as her dad would say and first mate. She's afraid of Every.Single.Thing. in the whole wide world, is a crack whip with a cantankerous BBQ and is determined to set aside her fears and live a little.
We have 5 beautiful wonderful kind funny sweet daughters between us, in various locations around the world. We feel very fortunate that our children are supportive and encouraging of our decision to take this little detour from a conventional life. We'll become responsible adults again at some point, but it's sweet of them to indulge our craziness for now.
Our parents are also amazingly supportive, despite the obvious parental concerns we know they have about our safety at sea, pirates, laundry facilities and having enough ice for a gin and tonic. We love them for their words of encouragement while their brows are furrowed with worry. So sweet and we love them so much!