S/V Kandarik Freya 39' sloop - Homeport: Ft Lauderdale, USA

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2. How old were your kids when you left? Is there a best age to take children cruising?

Sammy in the Bahamas one year old, matching sailing dinghies

Teaching Jamie to hold his breath mimicking his Mom! Just under a year old

Pam and Sammy (age 3) in the cockpit in Maine

Samantha, our daughter, had been sailing with us since she was a newborn baby.

Before we left to sail around our world, we had been taking Sammy with us every summer to Maine, Canada, the Bahamas and Bermuda. Even though our boat, KANDARIK, was a work in progress when she was a baby, we still went away every summer for a couple of months. Sammy was almost literally christened by the Gulfstream. When we departed on our world voyage Sammy was 7 years old.

James, our son, was also a water baby.

From the first months of his life, he too was sailing with us during our summer months of cruising somewhere wonderful. His bunk started out as a padded box secured in the turn of the bilge. He was cruising with us before we had a cabin sole! Jamie was 4 years old when we cast off on that momentous day in 1985.

Our two children were a joy and a pleasure to have with us from the very beginning!

I think it was much easier to have infants aboard than later on when they grew up to become crawlers, then walking, or even youngsters turning to teenagers.

Infants take to living on a boat much better than adults. After all, it is what they only know, and they adjust so well to wherever they are!

How easy it was to know they could not get out of their little bunks, what a joy to put them into their car seats lashed to the mast, and feeding them from Mummy was the easiest way to stock a boat with food for infants!

I refused to carry cloth diapers, and you should have seen the various clever ways we had of stuffing the boat as full of paper diapers as possible!!!

It was easy for us as parents to watch over them, and it sure made a comforting and terribly close-knit family situation.

In hindsight, I think that the BEST age to take children cruising is when they are very young and do not leave anything behind they might really miss!

Our two grew up living on KANDARIK, it was normail life for them, nothing special -- just the way it was!

Several years, 5 to be exact, after we returned home from our circumnavigation, we sailed away again bound for Europe.

By then our two were teenagers, and this time it was very difficult for them to leave a life ashore behind them. But, once underway, that all disappeared, and they immediately loved the cruising life. It was just LEAVING that was difficult for them.

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3. Did you make modifications to the boat for your children? Any suggestions?

I’ll say we did!

We left with two small bunks, high see-through lee cloths, car seats lashed to the mast for feeding and sitting without being tossed around, and Legos by the thousands!!!

We had to make a secret locker, high out of reach of small prying hands, where Santa Claus kept his goodies, the Easter Bunny had eggs and chocolates, the Tooth Fairy had little gifts, and all the little things that could be used for surprises so necessary like birthday candles, balloons, and more LEGOS!

We had to have a toddy potty, a place to comfortably and safely change diapers, good comfortable safety harnesses (our two never wore life jackets -- too clumsy and hard to balance when learning to walk, or crawl for that matter), and of course all the learning toys for children as they grow!

The very basic car seats lashed to the mast at table level were excellent places to “stow” the children in bad weather, while eating, or for just sitting up as infants. You could strap them in, they could see and observe everything, and they could always be a part of the daily workings of the boat.

As the children grew older, their cradle bunks became their bedrooms. We installed a reading light, a 12-volt fan, and a Pullman-type curtain for their bunks. They each had a book shelf, a hammock for toys, and when they pulled the curtains closed with their lee cloths up, they had their own very cozy bedrooms! Years later when we were home from our seven-year voyage, they could NOT sleep in real beds at home because they did not have their lee cloths! We had to improvise lee cloths in the house!

Sammy in her bunk or bedroom. Note her pets and privacy curtains.		Jamie's private cabin on KANDARIK. Note he has his own telltale compass above his pillow, so he can be sure we are on course during his off watch.

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4. Anything you wish you had known before you got started? Any advice for families?

Yes indeed there is so much I wish I had known.

Why, oh why, didn’t I realize all this BEFORE we got started?

DO I HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR FAMILIES

Go with the JOY of remembering you are the lucky ones!!!!

Oh, yes, advice! What a difficult thing to suggest to anyone as so much depends on the families, the children, the boat and the places you want to go!

I truly think after many years of sailing with our children that this was the very BEST thing in the whole world we could do as a family! There is no doubt that both Sammy and Jamie want to do this with their families when they have them. And if that isn’t a testament to the lifestyle, nothing is!

Reading Our diaries If I were to read about June 22, 1988 in my log, read Andy’s real log for navigation, see what Jamie wrote on the same day, and look too at the drawings that Sammy put in her diary, I would find a lifetime of differences. Yet it was the SAME DAY - the day a lady gave us Tuku the parrot! - and vive la différence!!!! There is NOTHING better we can do today than read those diaries to one another and REMEMBER! Sammy's diary   Jamie's diary - Same day

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6. A typical day on passage? Your kids' responsibilities aboard?

Watch-keeping

Jamie (age 8) on his watch - New Zealand to Fiji In the beginning of our voyage around the world, Andy and I did all the watch-keeping. But by the time we got to the Panama Canal, Sammy (7) and Jamie (4) were taking full-blown watches of two hours! Mind you, the self-steering was doing all the helm work, but the watchkeepers were the little people aboard as well as Mommy and Daddy. The watch systems worked like this: Andy on for two hours, Sammy on for two hours, Mommy on for two hours, and finally Jamie on for two hours. The watchkeeper had to remain in the cockpit, tethered in, watching the compass course, keeping a careful lookout, and determining the sail trim and weather conditions. This was a huge responsibility for such young children. Andy and I stressed the importance of this large responsibility to both Sammy and Jamie. They knew how very important this part of living was aboard KANDARIK. And they quickly learned to enjoy these watches, as did both Andy and I. There is something mystical about being alone in the cockpit, especially at night! The motion of KANDARIK, the sound of the wind and waves, the lure of the moonlight, the hope of the dolphins' breath and squeaking greeting, it was almost intoxicating, and this is what we passed on to our two little children. I don’t think they were ever afraid of being on watch, especially at night, as we taught them to take this very seriously, but also to enjoy it! It was the very special private time in your daily routine, and we hope this is how they both felt about this precious time when they were in control of our time at sea. Mind you, Andy ALWAYS slept on the quarter berth at the foot of the companionway when the two were on watch. His innate knowledge of the motion and sounds of KANDARIK would have him awake instantly if anything changed. Sammy and Jamie always knew he was right there if they needed him. We did not trust everything to those little eyes, ears, and heartbeats!

 

Sometimes in cases of wild weather, Sammy and Jamie would take their watches together. I wish I could have recorded those conversations while they were up there in the cockpit!!! They were priceless as they discussed every aspect of what they should do on the watch: they argued about whose turn it was to look around the horizon, they peeked down below to make sure Andy and I were below, and they talked about so many wondrous things together as only two left on their own could do.

So, our typical day at sea started at dawn, as I always wanted the 4AM to 6AM watch. I love the early lightening in the eastern sky, I love the sweetness of a new day about to dawn, I love watching the stars disappear one at a time, and there is an indescribable joy of communing with the sky and the sea just before the sun appears over the horizon.

Andy always got up at the change of every watch. He would circle the deck, check aloft, adjust the trim, and of course put down anything pertinent in the log book.

Then he would wake up Jamie with a cup of cocoa and finally go back to sleep. Jamie would have the 6AM to 8AM watch, and of course I would be below making breakfast for all of us. The smell of coffee and FOOD would wake the off watch, and we would all eat heartily in the cockpit if the weather was fine, or below if it was wet on deck.

Then Andy would take over the watch from Jamie, and then Sammy would take over the watch from Andy, and so on.

The ONLY time we abandoned the WATCH system was when we "went to the movies" in the cockpit every afternoon; then we were all ON WATCH as we listened to the "Tusitala", the story-teller, me!

School

We never did school work at sea. I just was not up to that as well as watch-keeping, cooking, running the ship, etc.

there never was a dull moment aboard while at sea.

It’s funny, I never remember at any time having to “take care of” Sammy and Jamie.

When infants, of course, I did have to take care of them as a mother would an infant anywhere. But once they became little people (4 and 7 when we departed Fort Lauderdale), I NEVER had to entertain them.

Sammy and Jamie and friends on deck crossing the Pacific Galapagos to Marquesas 1985

Caring for Sammy and Jamie while offshore was so easy!

Their little minds were like sponges! All they had to be is interested in what was happening all around them! Their little minds and bodies were so active that the two of them were never at a loss at amusing themselves.

Every empty egg carton was made into two exotic caterpillars, empty cereal boxes created doll houses. Ken and Barbie dolls were fantastic. We had weddings, birthdays and costume balls for these delightful friends.

Of course after the Panama Canal, Sammy and Jamie had their watches to take, so this took up some of the daily routine.

We encouraged lessons in navigation, steering, watch-keeping, and of course we read books, and we read books, and we read books. Books were devoured so quickly, it became necessary to eek out chapters to make them last across the vast Pacific.

Andy was always teaching them the arts of the sailor; knot tying, stargazing, and navigating mysteries became daily lessons!

It was wonderful to watch these little ones become so very comfortable and knowledgeable about their lives at sea.

Even when they were very young, since we had the luxury of two children, they always found wonderful ways to entertain themselves together! Remember, there was no computer, no DVD or cassette player aboard. But we did have music on cassettes that became a part of our lives! I think songs and music touch heartstrings as much as anything in the world!

Jamie's birthday at sea - New Zealand to Fiji 1988

Sammy and Jamie every day spent a few hours baking something spectacular!

This involved hours of time for figuring out what to make, getting all the ingredients ready, taking turns measuring, stirring, licking the bowls and spoons, lighting the oven, timing the baking, and of course TESTING the final product.

Often elaborate decorations augmented the dessert, taking time and effort!

All those yummy, warm baked goods kept KANDARIK so fragrant!

We left the Galapagos Islands with a huge complement of eggs, butter, flour, sugar, etc. but by the time we made landfall in the spectacular Marquesas, all the cake making ingredients were GONE!

The most fun they had at sea was catching and then dissecting globs of seaweed.

Sammy and Jamie would perch themselves up on the bow pulpit for hours looking for the perfect ball of seaweed. If they saw one in the distance, we sometimes had to divert from our course. Andy would spear the weed with the boat hook and drop it into a waiting bucket of sea water, and then the scientists began their detailed investigation of this little sphere of life!

It is utterly amazing what you find in that little ball of weed in the middle of the ocean. There are crabs, tiny lobster-looking creatures, miniscule little fish that look like grouper and all kinds of jellyfish, and remember: all on a tiny, tiny scale! EACH ball of weed they would bring aboard held different life; it was just fantastic.

Can't you see it Daddy, there it is!!!		Whiling away the idle hours at sea inspecting large clumps of seaweed in the bucket speared from the wavetops

After the hour or so of squeaks of pleasure and joy at what they found, they would throw that world back into the sea and dash below to draw every little creature they had met.

It was a wonderful scientific expedition into a different world and took up hours of life at sea!

what the children were responsible for in daily tasks

We had a rotating list of what Sammy and Jamie were responsible for! They made the calendar to be FAIR with distributing their daily chores.

“My Boat is my home” The following article was written by Jamie when he was 7 years old. It is published at kidsaboard.com and was posted online on May 9, 2005. Hello. My name is James and I am seven years old. There are four in my family. I have an older sister. Her name is Samantha. She is eleven years old. I have a mother and father. Their names are Pam and Andy. I do not live in a house. I live on a boat. Her name is Kandarik. She has a white hull. She has no windows but she has three hatches that suit her very well. She is made of fiberglass and wood. Our chimney is made from steel. We have three cabins. And a companionway. My father built our boat because we wanted to sail around the world. So my home is a boat. I like our boat because it sails. I have learned to row our dinghy. I can make tea all by myself. My favorite place is up forward in my Mummy’s and Daddy’s bed. I share my toys. I share with my sister. I do the drying and my sister does the washing. My sister and I share rowing the dinghy. Yesterday Mum set the sailing rig up so that I could sail the dinghy because the wind was nice to sail in. I had a really fun time. It has a red sail. In our main saloon (living room). I like our table. It is varnished a light brown. It can lift two sides and make a big table sort of. In the middle there is a rectangle. It can lift out and there is a well. I like it. My mother has a telephone. It is a Ham radio. Mommy talks on it a lot. It can reach much farther than a regular phone. Mommy can talk to her friends all over the world. I live on a boat. I went to the top of the mast in a bosun’s chair. I put a line through a block for the burgee. It was fun.

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7. A great moment?

This was not a single incident, but happily happened time and again. This was part of our lives as a cruising family.

LAND HO!

Sammy as lookout on the bow as we negotiated the pass into Moorea, French Polynesia

There is no way to describe those two words unless you have crossed an ocean!

It means you have done a good job! It means you will sleep the night through soon. It means your water and fuel and food have been appropriate. It means your navigation is pretty darn good. It means your vessel is sound and laughing at you! And it means the ritual of a new landfall begins with everyone aboard.

There is a flurry of activity aboard KANDARIK when the landfall is near! It is always the same for us.

Sammy stays below cleaning every inch of the galley, the head, the bunks, the bulkheads, the stove; everything is made into perfect condition below deck.

Pam and Jamie and Andy begin the huge cleanup on deck: the guys for the downwind pole, the vangs and preventers, the sheets and the halyards all coiled just so; mainsail furled to perfection; anchor brought on deck and put back on the bow; chain attached to the anchor again; burgee and American flag back on display; and the entire deck made spotless as if 1000 or 3000 miles had NOT just been crossed. Everything on deck is shipshape before we enter a harbor.

Once the anchor was down and secure or we were properly tied to a dock, Sammy would always serve hot tea and fresh snacks for the entire crew.

It is our little ritual; it is our little family working together to make KANDARIK look beautiful. We were all so proud of our little ship. We sailed around the world together, and together we'd prepared for new adventures.

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8. How did you handle: HEALTH and SAFETY?

Keeping the kids safe aboard

ALWAYS keeping one hand on the ship, in this case TWO hands!		Sammy in her home-made harness swinging on mast hoops 1978

From the first time our children could walk or crawl, the most important lesson we taught them was to ALWAYS have one hand for the ship! There was never a move to be taken without holding tightly onto something secure aboard the boat. That applied to down below and, of course, mostly in the cockpit and on deck.

We tried bulky, uncomfortable and hot infant life jackets. They were impossible because the children lost all possibility of balance, they were uncomfortable on bare skin, and they restricted important movement aboard a rocking and rolling deck.

I made up infant safety harnesses for them when they started to move about the deck. This allowed them the freedom to move about the boat tethered-in but reined-in enough not to go over the side. Sammy and Jamie ALWAYS had to wear those harnesses on deck, and the tether had to be secured. This worked really well.

I used very soft nylon webbing and fashioned a harness for each of them that was easy to put on and take off, was almost not apparent when being worn, and most importantly had a crotch strap and tether. I was smart enough to make them adjustable, because nothing grows as fast as adorable children on a boat!

Teddy came wherever Sammy went (Hopetown, Abacos, Bahamas) A side story about keeping kids safely aboard may have helped to remind Sammy and Jamie about the dangers of falling overboard. Their favorite little "pet", a stuffed lion that wound up and nodded its little head and roared, was on deck with us as we were departing the Perles Islands. We often had our "pets" on deck! We were screaming downwind with a poled-out genoa heading for the Galapagos Islands some 900 miles away. Somehow poor little Lion fell overboard, and the screams of terror and grief were just so awful and sad! We could not turn around to save poor Lion as he quickly disappeared from sight in our churning wake. It was a sad, sad day aboard KANDARIK for hours after the frightening incident. But, I really do think it was so engraved on our children’s minds that it gave new meaning to “one hand for the ship”.

Caring for the kids in rough weather

Rough weather was never a problem.

The kids actually loved the watches in the worst of weather.

I think they had such confidence in their Dad and KANDARIK, that bad weather was never something they worried about. They knew everything would be just fine, so why bother with being at all scared. It is so very cozy below in a secure bunk when the wind is howling out on deck, and it is so comforting to know Mom and Dad and KANDARIK can handle anything. We taught them the wonders of nature, and I think they, like us, stood in awe of what Mother Ocean and King Neptune could throw at us for a little excitement!

Keeping the kids healthy / getting medical care

Keeping kids healthy, well all I can say is, when you are in a small environment that YOU control like being a family aboard a small vessel, you eliminate so many outside influences that could cause health issues.

I honestly cannot remember any time that we had a real health issue with the children.

Sure, Jamie split his chin open when attempting to dive off the bow pulpit at age six! Yes, once Sammy got a boil right on the tip of her lovely nose, sometimes little cuts and scratches got infected and needed extra care, but our cleanliness routine aboard kept us pretty darn healthy.

We never were at a loss for good healthy meals with our huge freezer, we always took lots of GREEN fruit to consume as it ripened, and our diets were well-rounded always!

We stressed the fact that most accidents happen at home (aboard KANDARIK), so it was inportant to be extra-specially careful no matter what you were doing. Aside from two medical incidents that Andy had, I felt we were all pretty healthy.

I do recommend having a really good and comprehensive trauma and first aid kit plus medications for all purposes aboard. I also recommend KNOWING how to use them; I took a comprehensive medical course for emergency medicine and trauma care at sea which I felt was very important.

We relied on the Ham Radio a couple of times, especially when Andy had coral poisoning. We could always find someone, a doctor, on the ham radio who would give assistance, and it was a wonderful comfort knowing that was always available.

I once got violently sick after leaving Aitutaki for Samoa. I ate some bad chicken at a restaurant but didn’t have symptoms until we were underway and screaming downwind too fast to turn around and try to beat back to Aitutaki. But Sammy and Jamie never suffered from Montezuma’s revenge, and if you could see the places we ate at ashore around the world, you would consider that absolutely amazing or just dumb luck!!!!

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9. How did you handle: EDUCATION and FULFILLMENT?

Schooling

Sammy doing her schoolwork in KANDARIK's main saloon

Schooling was always the one thing that everyone wanted to do least, but I must say that a huge part of the education of Sammy and Jamie did NOT come from SCHOOL but from the experiences they had and the people they met.

However, you cannot get away with just that!

Calvert School correspondence classes

We left home with a huge locker full of assignments and books, pencils and paper for the Calvert School out of Baltimore. I felt that a GOOD SCHOOL was absolutely necessary for the well-being of our children, and we did NOT want to have them fall behind their age group once back in school. So, school work we did!

Homework, ugh! There's Teddy again keeping an eye on things.

Calvert was very comprehensive and expensive! I had to buy two different classes because of the four-year age difference between Sammy and Jamie. While everything was the same for both classes as far as the syllabus was concerned, naturally they were on different levels for the different ages.

What I did find, and I can pass this on, is that if I had ONLY paid for Sammy’s 7 year-old grade, Jamie could easily have followed that structure as it was almost identical to his 5 year-old class. I could have saved a lot of tuition fees, and both children could have been “in school” in the same KANDARIK classroom.

We never did school work at sea. We did read a lot, but never real Calvert School work!

So our actual classes were limited to the joyous days in port.

And herein was the difficulty!

When in port we always wanted to explore, play, discover and enjoy where we were. So, the compromise was to get up really early, have class until lunch, and then away we would go! But I think concentration was very difficult for both teacher (me) and students as we were all thinking about the wonderful afternoon ahead. But we carried on and did all the work the Calvert School demanded.

School in Tahiti

Jamie (age 6) and his classmates in Papeete, Tahiti 1986

When we got to Papeete and decided to stay there for a year, things were quite different! We wanted Sammy and Jamie to have the marvelous benefit of going to school in this new and exciting island!

So, both were enrolled in the local schools in Papeete. Two different schools were necessary because of their age difference, and the class room aboard KANDARIK was closed down.

I feared that they would now face an enormous challenge, to learn French.

I was so worried this added obstacle in school would confuse and frustrate them.

But, I needn’t have been! They took to French like ducks to water, and in less than a week Jamie was actually talking in his sleep IN FRENCH!! That’s how little children adapt so much better than any adults!!!!

Back to "Kandarik schooling"

As we progressed further westward, we went back to home schooling on board. We did not continue with Calvert but went solely with reading, writing, and arithmetic. Sociology, science, biology and history were all part of our daily lives where no school books were needed.

School in New Zealand

We again stayed a year in another wonderful country, New Zealand.

Sammy and Jamie wanted to go to school there since we were staying in Whangarei. This time they could go to the same school together.

When we finally left New Zealand, we were able to enroll in the New Zealand system of Correspondence School This is the fabulous set of courses through which children in isolated areas of New Zealand are educated. Remember, there still were no computers, so all work and grading of work was done by slow but secure MAIL!

School in Australia

By the time we sailed into Sydney, Australia, Andy’s home town, we knew we wanted to spend a year there as well. So once again as little “foreigners”, Sammy and Jamie went to real school, this time to two different schools, since by this time Sammy was in high school and Jamie still in grammar school.

Australian correspondence classes

When we left Australia, both kids attended the Australian School of Distance Education out of Brisbane, and these were the correspondence classes they had until we sailed back into Port Everglades.

By this time, no teacher was necessary, so I was let off the hook. They were strictly on their own to do their required work and looked forward to receiving their grades by mail in the next port! I no longer needed to discipline the time or frequency of schooling; they did that all on their own as they loved it so much. That, I think, is a real credit to the type of education that Australia offers its students who are too far from any regular classroom.

As a point of interest, when we returned home, both Sammy and Jamie were tested before being able to continue school. BOTH surpassed all test scores, and the principals wanted to put them in higher classes. This never happened as they both ended up wanting to go to school in France, which they did, but that is another story! But the point is, their strange and certainly different style of EDUCATION did not hurt them in the least, and most probably was a tremendous benefit to both of them.

 

Of course like all children, Sammy and Jamie collected many things along the way! Friends, shells, photos, clothes, books, pareus and other charms, like Jamie’s parrotfish necklace given to him by the Kuna Indian Chief! We also enjoyed collecting coins and stamps from the countries we visited. Not only did they give us something to search out and learn about, but the collections became something sought after in every port we visited. Stamp collections became quite the artistic endeavor for both Sammy and Jamie. Their collections were not only practical but beautiful as well! A stamp collection is small, easy to stow, and later will bring back wonderful memories! Besides their little log books, I think the stamps we found and saved were as precious to each of them as any jewel could be.

 

Homework in Tahiti - Sammy (10) practicing the Tamare for dance contests during Fête under the awning on the foredeck

Friendships and social interactions

Their school friends around the world were very important to them, and not only do they have lasting memories, they have friends they still correspond with.

Family back home and their concerns

Every couple of weeks we would record on a tiny little cassette recorder little things to share with our family at home.

I would mail it, and we would all look forward to our loved uncles and aunts, parents, and grandparents, and cousins who would also make little cassettes and mail them to us! It was a great way to stay in touch.

And to this day, I still have to insert those hilarious cassettes and listen to those sweet young voices talking into the microphone and telling everyone at home what they were doing!!!

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10. What do you like BEST / LEAST about cruising?

I like to steer during my watch, I like to steer coming into harbors and port, and I like to be the helmsperson ALL THE TIME!

I DO NOT LIKE kneading bread!

I like to have a cup of tea waking me up for my watch.

I DO NOT LIKE hearing Andy on deck at night when he has promised to wake me if he has to go on deck.

I like the smell of small children waking up.

I DO NOT LIKE cleaning the grounds of the coffee after breakfast.

I like the smell of perking coffee and frying bacon.

I DO NOT LIKE crusty salt on my glasses at night.

I like helping Andy get his sextant shots every day.

I DO NOT LIKE trying to take a sextant sight myself, mostly because I just do not have the knack of getting that sun to touch the horizon!

I like knowing my children are safe with me and Andy.

I DO NOT LIKE lying in my bunk, sleepless, while waiting for two teenage children to come home to their bunks at night in a new port.

I like making a new landfall.

I DO NOT LIKE departing from a place I have come to love.

I like a fresh washdown from a squall.

I DO NOT LIKE beating to windward in 25 knots of headwind.

I HATE DOING LAUNDRY.

I like the smell of freshly-cleaned clothes and pillow cases.

I DO NOT LIKE watching a screen.

I LOVE TALKING ON THE HAM RADIO.

I LOVE MY CREW. OUR CHILDREN.

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11. Has cruising changed your family? How about the transition back to land?

Jamie, Sammy and Andy in Australia

Sammy and Jamie are not here with me now as I write this. Sammy is now 33 years old; Jamie has just celebrated his 30th birthday. But I think I can answer for our entire family.

We all terribly miss our special times together on KANDARIK.

I know it was responsible for a very tight and precious relationship between me and Andy and our two children.

We did not think it was anything special then, but today we look back and realize how lucky we were to have grown up together and shared so many experiences.

None of us will ever be happy staying in one place too long; we cannot imagine a life in one place! We need the stimulation of new countries and people not like our friends at home. We need to see more than we can possibly imagine; the wanderlust has been instilled in our way of life!

I don't know, but I don't think that is too bad!!!! I feel it the same as my children, and it drives me in life as I know it does them.

The transition back to land

KANDARIK coming home to Port Everglades - 1991		Sammy's 21st Birthday in Horta, Azores on our way to France to drop Jamie off at school - 1997

After KANDARIK sailed back into Port Everglades, six and a half years after departing for a circumnavigation, Sammy and Jamie went back to REAL school in Fort Lauderdale.

When they were in school in Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia, they never minded being from another country (foreigners). BUT when we came "home", they were the foreigners in their schools here!

They were so different, and it is always the different children who receive the most punishment from their teachers and peers. They liked to answer questions; their hands were always up but neglected. They liked to speak and talk with adults, but they were chastised by their fellow pupils for 'making up to the teachers'. They could NOT ride bicycles, they could not play hockey, they could not dream of smoking in the bathrooms, and they just did not fit in with the student profile.

In short, they were too different!

So, they both went to school in France!!!

Sammy became the youngest student ever, 16, to be part of the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. She was enrolled in high school in Vannes, France and sent there by the wonderful Rotary program. Jamie followed his sister to France for his high school years. But while she flew to school, we SAILED him to Vannes in KANDARIK!!! The whole family, once again, was aboard for the delivery of Jamie to school in France!

Once Jamie finished his high school, both he and Sammy started university in Toulouse, France.

However, they both knew it would be more advantageous for them to get their university degrees in the States, so they left France to complete their higher educations. Jamie graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design in Fine Arts and Architecture. Sammy graduated from Nova Southeastern University in Florida with a degree in Child Psychology.

They both still sail. They both will take their families sailing once they have them. They both now realize how terribly special their upbringing was on KANDARIK.

Funny, how when you are sailing with your children, you do not realize what a fortunate family you are. It is just life! But when you look back on that family adventure, it becomes the most precious time of our lives!

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About the KANDARIK family

Family in Whangarei, New Zealand 1987 Who was aboard? Andy the Captain, Father, Husband, Mechanic, Navigator, Electrician, Plumber, and mostly the wonderful fantastic HUSBAND and Bread kneader!!! Pam the worrier, the chef or really merely cook, Mother, teacher, Tusitala or Teller of Stories! Mate, helmswoman, dreamer, and Wife! Sammy, Samantha, who sailed with us from her earliest months, graduated from Nova Southeastern University after high school in France. Sammy was a child psychologist with the State of Maine for over seven years. She worked helping handicapped, autistic, and battered children. She is engaged to an Australian, with a Valiant 40 and will sail with him and their children!! She is out cruising the Bahamas with her fiancé! The apple does not fall far from the tree!!!! Jamie, James, who also sailed with us from his first months, is now a wonderful young man. Jamie is busy in Miami driving his architectural business. What kind of boat did you have? KANDARIK, a Freya 39, is a thoroughbred of a boat design for sure! She was lovingly built by me and Andy and could not be a better home and voyager for our family. She is moored at the foot of our garden anxious for new adventures. What are you doing now? We came home from sailing around the world just as West Marine was beginning to build a new store right around the corner from our house! I got a job as a cashier, and less than a few months later I became one of the assistant managers. That was over 18 years ago! How time flies!!! I have been working for West Marine ever since we stepped foot back on home soil!!! I have been Outfitting Manager and “go to” person for any kind of cruising information. Now I am in a new position as Sales Manager for the Megayacht Division of West Marine. I have been lucky to be asked by West Marine, and many other associations, to give talks around the country on many subjects that pertain to our cruising life! It is something I enjoy most of all, passing on the dream, the reality, and the ability to go out there and SAIL with your family! My children sometimes come with me to the British Virgin Islands where I am an instructor for Bitter End Yacht Club’s Women on the Water Week, where women teach women how to sail. What a concept!!! Such fun, such laughter, such a great time to empower women with the knowledge to KNOW how to sail! Any woman, who really wants a good instructor to teach her to sail and ENJOY it, should attend Women on the Water Week, WOW! Andy is the one who STARTED our wonderful lives together.   Andy at the helm of the schooner VALROSA (Tahiti 1965).   Andy and Pam Wall (North Carolina - 2008)   Andy was the most excellent sea man that ever sailed. He was a sailboat rigger all his life, and there are too many words I have to describe him to put into this description of our family. Andy cast off on his final voyage a year and a half ago, in October of 2008. We know he is on a beam reach and smiling as he looks down on his family, knowing he gifted us with the love of adventure, the love of our family, and the desire to see the world from our cockpit!!! Thank you, dear Andy, for a wonderful life with you. Your blog or website(s)? I now have my own website www.pamwall.com. I am using this site to pass along more information, more inspiration, and more knowledge to other sailors and cruisers! I hope you join me on this new fun website!