This is likely the last post for a month or few. Read Arlo and Caitlin’s thoughts on returning to California and check out all the pix (and a video!) that we finally have the internet to upload.
From ARLO:
Well, we’re back. Coming back to Alameda itself wasn’t such a shock. We had spent three weeks in Hawaii adjusting to Western culture, and then another week on the East Coast before returning home. And now that we are back, we have easy access to many things we didn’t have on the boat, such as wifi, refrigeration, burritos, bagels and more. And I am very relieved to have all of those items back.
But I have been noticing some things I am missing too: less stressful days, a less intense schedule, and there’s more stuff happening to make my life busier and more complicated. I have also been missing all the fishing that we did on the boat. Living on the boat gave us lots of fruit and lots of fun. I gained the confidence to stand a watch alone, to talk with strangers in languages I’m not very good at, to swim with sharks, to try new foods, and to appreciate other ways of living. I have many friends that I like in Alameda, and I would miss them if I weren’t living here, but I find that on the boat, in an environment with fewer friends, I am happy as well.
I feel like the choice of where to spend my high school years could use some more thought. There are still some questions that I would like to think more about before I commit fully to one place or another. What about friends? What about school? Could I learn what I need to learn in high school on the boat? I just know for sure that life on the boat is appealing in a lot of different ways, and that I am going to be excited to go back there in the spring.
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And from Caitlin:
In mid-January the four of us walked toward our gate at the Honolulu International Airport, quiet mostly. We’d just left Debonair after a year aboard, and we were sad. Alma piped up, “Debonair feels more like home than our house does.”
We have had mixed feelings about going “home.” Watching an evening sky a few months ago, I told Jason that if the only thing we took from this voyage was seeing as much sea and sky as we saw this year, the voyage would have been worth it. But there’s so much more. Observing sea and sky was just the beginning of the year we spent watching and seeing the natural world around us.
There are the people we met–the other cruising families, the voyagers we met who were older or younger than we are–and how often at home do we have such mixed-age friendships? The sailors we met–from so many countries–were all people who took the initiative to make the life they wanted. They were good and interesting people, as were the many Mexicans and Polynesians whose graciousness and enthusiasm made our year so rich. Our friends on Ua Pou, and Nuku Hiva and Huahine are people we will carry in our hearts even if we don’t see them again. And you never know.
Of course, there is our ever growing love for Debonair–for it was beautiful Debonair who kept us safe across oceans and gave us a home in amazing places. She doesn’t maneuver well in tight spaces, but she sails like a freight train. She taught us so much about sailing. So little broke, so much of our planning was right, there are so few things about her we would want to change.
A beautiful South Pacific day as we approach the equator heading north. 
Sailing on the lagoon in Fakarava. 
Caitlin cleans the bottom for a speedy passage to Nuku Hiva. 
Jason went up the mast to check the rig. 
Everything on DEBO is strong. We had these 1/2″ Lexan storm windows made up just before we left California. (Thanks for weighing in on that one JT and Joel!) 
We installed these job sheet winches on new winch pads made by our friend Josh before we left. We used them every time we sailed. 
Everything on DEBONAIR is strong. This bronze chain plate we installed, one of 14. Connecting the shrouds to the hull, the chain plates are critical links in the rig that holds up the masts. 
Bungs. Thanks to friends for getting us these little teak plugs for Jason to install in the deck. It’s all about keeping the boat watertight. 
DEBONAIR is strong. This is the 77lb Spade anchor we used every time we anchored. With 300′ of chain, it held in big wind. Note the stainless and bronze on the caprail to protect it from the chain. 
JT on watch as we take our departure from Nuku Hiva.
But really the point of this year wasn’t to become better sailors, to meet other people or see cool places or even to watch the sky. It was to become more who we are by voyaging under sail . . . .through meeting interesting people, by seeing remote places and watching the sea. It was about finding space for each of us to grow and for us to grow together. We were scared sometimes and frustrated sometimes, but we were never overbooked, and we were never a family leading four separate lives. Everything we had to do–checking the anchor before bed, researching the next island group, making bread, varnishing the caprail–had a direct impact on someone we loved and so life was truly less complex than on land.
Despite living in 40′, we had room to stretch, and we stretched. The personal growth was most evident, I think, in Arlo and Alma–for each of them, the challenges this year became a real coming of age. But Jason and I have also learned so much. We’ve seen the sea and the sky, but also each other and I’ve come to appreciate the members of my family anew. Arlo’s focus, generosity and sense of humor, Alma’s lovingness, ability to learn and meticulousness, Jason’s curiosity, competence and capacity to love.
Three weeks home now, we are being cautious. We appreciate the warm welcome from neighbors and friends and family as we make the adjustment to more separate lives, to cell phones, to living in this consumer world. It’s not that we don’t like the lives we can live back home, but we’re reminded of the effort it can take to live here with integrity.
We sailed out the Golden Gate with ti leaves given to us by our friend Carter–a few were hanging on when we arrived in Hawaii where we were given this beautiful ti leaf lei.
This is me at Farmland Foods in Honolulu. Is this for real?
We just ordered the Coast Pilot for Alaska. Come May, Debonair will set sail again, bound from Hawaii for someplace north of 60*N, possibly Kodiak Island, and we’ll spend the summer there. We look forward to “a year and a day” becoming “a year and a day and a summer and maybe some more summers after that.” Thank you again for the ways you’ve sailed with us in our adventures. We’ll keep you posted once we’re back aboard.
For now, we leave you with a few final pics of the lovely DEBONAIR, from the last couple months of the voyage and from re-entry —
So beautifully expressed and I so admire how you all found a way to live a life of meaning and truth for yourselves.
I have followed your journey and am in awe of the gift you’ve given yourselves and your very fortunate children (who are much closer now in many ways to young adulthood!). Although we’ve never met, your mom lives next to where my wonderful parents lived and I consider her a close friend. Congratulations on a wonderful life-changing accomplishment that very few ever experience.
Welcome home you old salts. Nancy and I would love to have you over for a meal and a gam in the near future once you get your land legs sorted.
Yippee!, you did it!
Such an awesome adventure. Thank you for taking us along with you… I’m looking forward to the next chapter of this adventure called life. All of us are alive, but so few of us remember to really “live”. You’ve shown us how to do it right.
Love,
Lou Anne
What a journey. What a beautiful family. What insight. What articulate and thoughtful writing. This sentence may sum up the entirety of modernity: “It’s not that we don’t like the lives we can live back home, but we’re reminded of the effort it can take to live here with integrity.”
Thank you for all the photos, stories, and thoughts you’ve shared. Taking this journey vicariously had been so great, and my hands stayed butter soft! 😉
So glad you are home safe- stay safe in the land of cars and other modern atrocities! Love you all,
Felicia
OM Goodness you all! Thanks for the amazing inspiring blog! Miss you guys! Can’t wait to hear about Alaska – and we’ll come through SFO next time we visit and see youse. luv luv luv Carol and Jesse
Welcome home,
It is great to have such an experience as a family.
I always like to think back on my adventures in far off places and imagine those “worlds “ going on without me.
Hope to see you all some time soon
Jocelyn
Welcome home,
It is great to have such an experience as a family.
I always like to think back on my adventures in far off places and imagine those “worlds “ going on without me.
Hope to see you all some time soon
Jocelyn
Welcome home ! We enjoyed all your articles and photos! Quite the adventure!
Welcome Home! We have so enjoyed reading of your adventures and look forward to hearing more – and hope to see you, too.
Lots of love, Fred, Susan and Ms. Priscilla
PS – If you are going to Alaska, have you thought about having a rescue dog aboard? Priscilla and her family love cold and cold water. You might need to think about getting a Newfoundland – and add locker space for dogfood.
Welcome home! I hope you all might be able to write a book about your wonderful year and a day.
The photos are so amazing and it would be cool to have them all in one place. It no doubt will take time
to reintegrate – but hope to see you in a few months. Glad to know that you’ll continue the family adventure in the summer.
Bon Retour! Bises Kaye
This journey kept me going and hopeful for an entire year. So glad you are all back safe and sound and so inspiring. Welcome back you wonderful people!
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Thank you for sharing your adventure with us. I read and enjoyed every word.
Welcome home! Thank you for sharing this amazing adventure. You can see in Alma and Arlo’s faces that they have matured a lot too. Now a couple of month being back in the “civilized” world. I hope you will keep on sharing all your future sailing adventures also. The photos were beautiful and I am happy that I was able to take this trip with you.
Studer Family,
Thank you so much for making time and effort to share your journey with us. Your stories & pictures brought us into a beautiful way of experiencing life on this planet. It’s easy to understand how you are looking forward to reuniting with Debonair in a few months.
Boy, have I enjoyed the posts and pictures of your travels. I’ve been impressed with every
detail and the creativity, patience and endurance you demonstrate. What an amazing opportunity to grow individually and as a family. Can’t wait to travel with you again!
Love,
Taffy
Having you home is a mixed bag. We can let our breath out now that you are safe and sound, but we will miss hearing about your glorious adventures! Hopefully, spring is just around the corner and we will get to be enlightened about Alaska. We hope that 2019 meets all of your expectations.
Love, Harriet and Bill
Hey wow! This trip looks amazing-ninsurprise at all- and I have some reading to do.
Hi everyone, from another cold winter day on the farm in Kansas!
We so enjoyed every picture ,every story, and all adventures you beautiful humans have shared! Love to you, Den and Tam
What an amazing journey and I can totally understand the mix feeling a of returning this crazy, busy life. How I admire your family and the true closeness and reliance you had with each other. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us and hope to see you before you reunite with Debonair again.
What a grand adventure ,I have truly enjoyed all your posts . Now you must get back to your everyday lives , jobs and school , till you sail away again .
Welcome Home
Rod
It’s amazing how the same themes get repeated in different ways in different generations. Your reflections about integrity mirror stuff I remember hearing from Isadore Schwarzman, but in a much more landlocked, retail context.