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Adventures on the Sailing Vessel Moorea
Having learned of our plans to circumnavigate the globe on our 1974, 35’ Dufour sailboat named Moorea, family and friends expressed many concerns and questions along with positive and negative statements. The most prevailing expression was the wonder of how two 30-something people with average jobs, save enough money to quit their jobs and embark on a 4-5 year journey.
Some thought we were
trust fund babies, but most new the sole income was acquired through selling
the house, working our jobs and living on the boat for 2 years, a cheap way
to live with a $250/month mooring fee versus $1600+ mortgage. But
living on the docks compared to living in a home is a sacrifice.
Walking from the car to the boat, during a damp, cold
But the sacrifices were worth it, we got to know our boat inside and out. Sailed her on long weekends, took her on vacations and outfitted her for the journey. This preparation was important, but I am amazed at the number of cruisers that hardly sailed and are among us on this adventure, however some of these cruisers have had more difficulty in their travels than a sailor with experience. Luckily for us, Moorea’s captain, Kelly, was taught to sail by his grandparents at a young age. Kelly inherited the love for the activity and introduced it to me by purchasing a 22’ Catalina, sloop just after our honeymoon. This little boat sparked a light to our future way of travel. I had always wanted to travel, but lack of time and money prevented this dream. Kelly dreamed of circumnavigating the globe on a sailboat, but he thought being newly married and a mortgage payment would hinder his plans.
But fortunately we both came to the conclusion, to take the time and escape for a few years and fulfill the dream, while we have our health and youth to make it happen. There are no guarantees that if we had waited till retirement for this adventure, that we would be around to enjoy it.
We cut our dock lines
July 2005, did a shake down cruise around Vancouver Island to test the
equipment and fix what we broke back in
By the way, both of our names happen to be Kelly, but to stem the confusion of which person I am referring to, my husband goes by the name of Kelly, Kelly Boy, El Kelly or Captain while I am referred to as Kelly Girl, La Kelly, Galley Slave, or First Mate. Hopefully this clears up any identity issues.
Please contact us if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you and hope you enjoy this site. Bon Voyage
This site will be updated along our journey with pictures & our destinations. You will also find pictures of crew (family & friends) that will meet up with us along the way. HOME |
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Crew Captain: Charles Kelly Also Known as, Kelly Boy (KB) or El Kelly
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First Mate: Kelly Also Known as, Kelly Girl (KG) or La Kelly
(to
date…no sea sickness) |
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Visitors who have met up with us along the way! |
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Stow-Away: Rutledge (Pop) |
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Stowaway: Brittney |
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Happy Crew: Tom & Jen Our good friends
Tom & Jen met up with us in
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Another Gringo,Stow-Away: Cyndi Very courageous,
this ex-Landlubber joined us in |
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Crew for the Day: The best weather for a nice day sail and the perfect company. El Kelly’s Grandma, Aunt Joan, Aunt Roxie along with their friends Deb and Debbie were vacationing in Puerto Vallarta while we were there preparing for the Pacific Crossing
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Swabbies
from Rarotonga to
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Kiwi Cruisers: Murray and Julie caught a flight to Tongatapu then boarded a puddle jumper to Neiafu to meet up with us for a long weekend. We took these two sailing around the Vava’u Islands and they caught onto the “yachtie” lifestyle real quick. Looking forward to visiting their homeland and family in November. |
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Land
Cruisers: Chris,
Sara and Jeremiah flew many long hours from |
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Surf
and Turf cruisers: When the
Captain’s Dad, Rutledge and his friend Pat decided to visit us in Also having extra hands on deck to hoist the sails and anchor was a
nice relief to the Captain and First Mate! |
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Canal
Rider: When the
Captain’s Aunt Jana expressed interest in meeting up with us in Partaking in many tours around |
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