Hello everybody! Welcome to the Blog! This is where our friends, family, donors, and anyone else will be able to follow along with us during our journey to sail around the world. Here you will be able to track our movements and hear our stories as we sail and raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation in an attempt to sail for a cure!
For those of you that don't know much about Sam and I here's a little background info. Sam Fifer and myself, Will Daniels have been lifelong friends. We have sailed together practically since we could walk. Ever since then we have fallen in love with the sport, lifestyle, and pastime of sailing. So much so that Sam and I currently live on a sailboat together in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia! We grew up spending our summers on the water sailing in the Lahave River and Green Bay on the rocky coasts of the South Shore of NS. Sam went to school during the year in Connecticut and I went to school in Halifax.
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| The Early Days: "Sky's out Thighs out!" |
| The mighty Tilikum sitting at her mooring in Mahone Bay, NS. |
After school we both pursued our love for the water. Sam spent the last 4 years working on various boats and as a sailing instructor in the US Virgin Islands and I worked a job in river restoration for the Nova Scotia Salmon Association. This summer, Sam moved back to Nova Scotia and currently, we both live in Mahone Bay on our boat, a 1982 C&C 32 named Tilikum.
Sam and I both have always had dreams of long distance sailing. We have sat many nights in the garage talking about various islands we want to visit, routes we want to take, and things we want to see. We have read the tales of the great adventurers like Joshua Slocum, Francis Chichester, Robin Lee Graham, and their sailing escapades. This is what has inspired us to undertake this voyage.
When we hatched this scheme we thought that it would be an amazing trip that Sam and I would have a lifetime of fun during, but, we felt that there was an element missing. Sam and I felt that we could do something to give back as a component of this geographical and spiritual voyage.
We decided that fundraising for a cause was something that we were both interested in doing. Our own, Sam Fifer, lives with Type 1 Diabetes and will be completing this journey despite having to take insulin regularly. With that in mind, Will and I figured what better cause to raise money for, then one that hits so close to home! Throughout the journey we will be raising funds through our GoFundMe page to go towards Type 1 Diabetes Research. Along with raising funds we will spread awareness to many, sometimes uneasily accessible places through Sam's story of living with diabetes, and not letting it get in the way of the things you want to accomplish in life.
Sam and I believe the trip will take us approximately 3 years. We plan on stopping at many places along the way either to pick up jobs to pay for our sailing addiction or if we like a place well hang out there for a while. It's in no way a race. We also have a small boat in terms of ocean sailing and so waiting for weather windows to make longer crossings is a must. Although our "bluewater" sailing experience is limited, we both make up for it in determination. Bluewater sailing experience only comes from blue water sailing, so we intend to learn a lot along the way. You only live once right? There's no time like the present.
When we hatched this scheme we thought that it would be an amazing trip that Sam and I would have a lifetime of fun during, but, we felt that there was an element missing. Sam and I felt that we could do something to give back as a component of this geographical and spiritual voyage.
We decided that fundraising for a cause was something that we were both interested in doing. Our own, Sam Fifer, lives with Type 1 Diabetes and will be completing this journey despite having to take insulin regularly. With that in mind, Will and I figured what better cause to raise money for, then one that hits so close to home! Throughout the journey we will be raising funds through our GoFundMe page to go towards Type 1 Diabetes Research. Along with raising funds we will spread awareness to many, sometimes uneasily accessible places through Sam's story of living with diabetes, and not letting it get in the way of the things you want to accomplish in life.
Sam and I believe the trip will take us approximately 3 years. We plan on stopping at many places along the way either to pick up jobs to pay for our sailing addiction or if we like a place well hang out there for a while. It's in no way a race. We also have a small boat in terms of ocean sailing and so waiting for weather windows to make longer crossings is a must. Although our "bluewater" sailing experience is limited, we both make up for it in determination. Bluewater sailing experience only comes from blue water sailing, so we intend to learn a lot along the way. You only live once right? There's no time like the present.
