Ahoy and welcome to our site! We are Wade and Sara! We started our voyage together when we met in 2014 in Honolulu Hawaii. We spent two years outfitting our boat, SV Just Drifting, a 2004 Beneteau Oceanis 473, with 5,200 watts of solar, a hydroponic garden, and other experiments.
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- In July 2016 we set sail on our French Polynesia in the reverse trip, and in July 2017 we sailed from Hawaii to explore Alaska.
- We fell in love with Alaska and made Kodiak our home. After a summer and fall of sailing from the Aleutians to Kodiak, we spent the holidays visiting family in warmer climates.
- In spring 2018 we thought it would be fun to drive Wade’s old farm truck (2001 Ford F-350) with a Lance truck camper on the top back to Kodiak Alaska. That became a trip diagonally across the United States from the southernmost point of the Continental US (Key West) to the Homer Ferry dock when we could no longer drive but the ferry to Kodiak. We took fun detours and checked out Valdez, transited a fishing boat from Valdez to Ketchikan, across the Top of the World Highway, Up to Dead Horse, and over to Seward for a quick stop.
- In December 2018 we eloped at Alyeska Resort Girdwood Alaska in 36 inches of snow. We honeymooned on the south end of Kodiak in Olga Bay in the month of January.
- Summer of 2019, our love for the Aleutians was renewed. We sailed slowly along the Alaska Peninsula from Kodiak back to Dutch Harbor. We visited friends at their fish camps, saw old friends in Sand Point, met new friends in the False Pass Cannery and in Dutch Harbor. We sailed as far as Atka and were amazed by the beauty and vastness of all the anchorages.
- We left our lovely boat to visit family. Sara’s dad had become ill with Bulbar ALS. During Covid, Canada would not let us drive back. We spent as much time with him as possible until his passing. We excitingly became pregnant during our time visiting family and thus gave birth to our son Leif.
- In summer 2022, plans are to make Leif’s maiden voyage to the Aleutians. There are so many anchorages yet to explore.
We’re excited you’ve taken the time to follow along on our journey. Almost daily, we give our boat position at noon and status updates through our Noon Report. Throw back to our first sail and read our stories from the beginning here. Sailing has given Sara the time to explore her passions and pursue her dreams of being a professional photographer artist. Coming soon will be her online gallery, in the meantime, she continues to build websites for folks.
Why Comfort Cruising?
Choosing to sail the world is no ordinary task. Many people have tried and many people have said farewell to a life at sea, and there is no wonder why when many sailboats have the electrical system the same as a car, there is no freezer, a hardly working refrigerator, and the crew only shower if there are onshore facilities or it starts to rain. The list can go on and on. There are some folks that say living without the luxuries of power, water, and refrigeration “sounds great”, “it’s like camping”, and “want to be off the grid” but then those are the same people that love a good yacht club, free facility hot shower, and order a glass of ice just for the sake of the taste of ice. Our thoughts are, why go through all of the trouble of outfitting a boat and stowing dock lines just to see the world one yacht club at a time. We’d rather spend the time and the money to live far away from the land facilities, live like locals, but still, maintain the modern comforts while cruising a sailboat around the world. With that said if you can get on a boat and sail safely, it’s worth it!
Investing the time, energy, and money in installing experiments gives us freedom. Our longest time away from a grocery store or facilities was three months and we debated staying another month because we were having so much fun, but the weather window was too good so we chose to leave. We have fun learning customs, techniques to forage, and living off the land of the places we visit. Our hope is that other boaters could expand our experiments to enrich their cruising experience without wasting time and money.
Our Motto
Our motto is to spread sunshine and happiness to all that we meet. In return to the families that have opened hearts and homes to us, we bring donations like books, fabric, clothes, water jugs and bottles, snorkeling fins, booties, and masks, fishing gear, and seeds. Reach out to us if you want to contribute. Time is precious, but we stop and give our time at the places we visit to repair or maintenance outboards and other projects that the community might not have the tools to fix. Each place we visit we collect information, coordinates, fee details, etc. for helpful cruising tips to benefit other cruisers that may visit.
We love our happy life at sea and we hope you enjoy our stories.
Cheers!
Wade and Sara
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