We Ran Away to Sea: A Memoir and Letters

Frustrated with teaching philosophy to bored South Dakota undergraduates, Kent is desperate for a way out. Then he discovers sailboats.. He couldn't afford to retire, but in a sailboat the wind would blow the family where they wanted to go, and the sea would feed them. Expenses would be minimal, and they would reduce their footprint on the fragile earth. What a fantastic opportunity it would be for the children! After reading sailing classics (they're academics) , Pam and Kent decide to leap into the unknown.. What could go wrong?. They sell everything, give up their jobs, and take their two children across the Atlantic, where they purchase a small sailboat. They sail (not without some compromises) to the Caribbean with a book in one hand and a sextant in the other in the days before GPS. Miraculously, they reach the Caribbean, but there are troubles even in paradise, and after a year, they return to South Dakota. However, the dream does not die.. Once the children are grown, Pam and Kent sell their home and possessions again, venturing through the Great Lakes and the Bahamas to the Caribbean and beyond. For over six years, they travel to offbeat destinations, making daring overland journeys through Central America, Venezuela, and Colombia - a country then known as one of the world's most dangerous. Confronted with equipment failures, storms, illness, financial worries, and family complications, Kent still wants to cross Panama and sail the Pacific. Pam has doubts. Can he win her over?. Told with wit and humor in two voices, Kent's and Pam's, this gripping tale of daring, determination, and the luck of fools may inspire YOU, too, to cast off into the unknown.. Places traveled:EnglandSpainPortugalCanary IslandsCaribbeanMexicoBelizePuerto RicoHaitiJamaicaTrinidadVenezuelaColombiaCentral AmericaThe Virgin Islands (U.S. and British) FloridaThe Great LakesTrent-Severn WaterwayErie CanalHudson RiverIntracoastal WaterwayMaps, glossary, photos, diagrams, itinerary, and bibliography.ISBN: 9798987009710Published July 1, 2023This edition. Format: ebook. Publication date: July 1, 2023 by Jacana PressLanguage: English