Sailing Sabbatical: A Family Adventure

When two yachties John and Karen meet in the Clipper Bar in Porto Cervo, Sardinia at a yacht race in the summer of 2000, John soon decides that she is the right women to cross oceans with, maybe even sail around the world. Twelve years and two children later, work-weary and tired, John decides to become master of his own time, at least for a while, and convinces his employer of the need for a one-year sabbatical. The family sets out for a winter in Denmark’s capital Copenhagen followed by a 10-month cruise around the Mediterranean on their sailing boat. Then the greatest challenge: Crossing the Atlantic Ocean as part of a yacht rally. Intense family time is not always easy. Living in cramped conditions and home-schooling their kids make tempers flare. Their boy being diagnosed with Aspergers puts additional stress on the family. But all in all the journey turns out the experience of a life time.