What is it like living on a sailboat during a global pandemic? This is never a question I never thought I would be able to answer until the year 2020 came, and everything changed. Outside Watch, is the story of Jennifer(my wife) and I, going from being two airline pilots to full-time sailors. We no longer spend most of our time at FL410, but instead at sea level.
We will spend this new, scary, and exciting chapter of our lives exploring the world by sea. I have been making videos for several years and want to document our journey by video as we take on this new challenge. My wife and I also have a website with a blog and cruising guide.
If you enjoy our vlog and blog and are planning to visit any of the locations we have been to or want some wanderlust, you can see where we anchored, provisioned, wined, and dined. This is going to be a work in progress as we visit more locations.
Outside Watch episode #1 shows how our lives changed so rapidly and how now our days are filled with sailing, swimming, drinking, diving, dining, and boat work. We completed a few upgrades on Skylark including solar panels and davits, celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary with a ‘fancy Italian’ onboard theme night and discovered some of the clearest water we have experienced in Thailand!
Want to know more about Chris and Jen and their adventures? Read more in our interview below and connect with them on their Youtube channel or blog.
Jennifer and I are 30 and 28 respectively, so we didn’t think we would have such an opportunity thrown at us so young. We have been so focused on growing an airline career since we began flying lessons at 15 and flying for airlines at 18. Along with flying, traveling is our number one passion, and we traveled all around the world, jet-setting to nearly 100 countries and all seven continents. Together we challenged ourselves to climb mountains, paraglide, scuba dive, and charter sailboats in exotic locations.
The excitement of the fast-paced lifestyle and splitting ourselves between multiple hobbies and countries began to taper off. We craved a new challenge. We decided a sailboat would offer a new style of travel that appealed to us in so many ways. With our own sailboat, we would be able to visit places inaccessible during short charters and force us to slow down our travel pace. We would also learn many new skills along the way and grow through the experiences. After a few years of dreaming, saving, and searching for the ideal boat for us, we purchased Skylark.
When we bought Skylark in October 2019, we were First Officers on the Boeing 787. We were planning to commute to Skylark and travel around the world on our days off, leaving her at marinas while we worked. Then Covid-19 happened. Our plans for sailing part-time while working quickly turned into 100% sailing and 0% working.
We have found all of these travel restrictions to make travel more difficult but not impossible. We have had to change our plans many times to comply with the restrictions, but are looking forward to the excitement of cruising which includes visiting new places, meeting new friends, and living in the moment. Let’s go!
