This is a story that took twenty five years to write. Twenty five years ago a newly married couple set off on an adventure of their lifetime. Having sold most of our worldly possessions we were in the process of buying a sailboat that was to take us on a multi-year journey to far off corners of the world. This was not meant to be, however, as an unimaginable tragedy struck unexpectedly like a lightning in a clear blue sky.

Early on the Halloween morning in 1999 a plane carrying passengers from New York to Cairo plunged into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, killing everyone aboard, including our two closest people. Instead of a sailing adventure what followed was a year-long agony of waiting for the search and victim identification work to conclude so that their remains could be finally put to rest. Each day was a challenge, filled with many setbacks and disappointments, but also the joy of finding help and support in some of the least expected places. Delayed, but undeterred, we persevered and finally, almost two years later, we embarked on our sailing adventure that ended up lasting almost ten years and took us to some of the most amazing places on our planet.

It was by no means a smooth and easy path. From the challenges of designing and building an ocean-going sailing machine, to overcoming the steep learning curves, storms and shipwrecks, the mundane routines and the extraordinary adventures, all set in some of the most spectacular places on Earth. Along the way we had a daughter, raising, educating and lavishing her with all our attention while on a wondrous journey through incredible destinations. Saved by the bird and the sea, and given a chance to overcome the trauma of loss and resume living full and meaningful lives.

This is the first part of our story, soon to be published as a book. Below you can read some excerpts from it. You can support us on Indiegogo and receive an autographed copy as soon as it is published, early sccess to the ebook, as well as many other perks.