|
Catching the travelling bug
I studied hotel and restaurant management at Boston University and then got an MBA. I also worked in sales in marketing, as did my wife. I quit my job after getting married. I had always dreamed of travelling. One day, my wife and I decided to stop putting off our dream and bought a boat. We set off around the world in July 2005. I caught the travelling bug from my uncle. My father and brother are fishermen, and I have sailed since I was a kid. I took sailing lessons in the US and then with Cumhur Gokmen at Gokova Yelken back in Turkey. I became a captain. Although she is a beginner, my wife is fantastic.
Young fools
I think that we are the youngest fools to sail around the world (I am 35, my wife is 30). Most people wait until they retire. Sailing the high seas is difficult: your muscles ache and you get hardly any sleep. Nevertheless, we are blissfully happy. We used to always get sick when we worked, now we never do.
All the sailors in the world
You make a lot of friends on the ocean. We have met people from all over the world. I set up a website for Turkish sailors to ask them for assistance, but no one heeded my calls for help. But there is always someone who is ready to help you. We have developed close friendships that will continue on land.
Two is a crowd
Before we set off on the trip, people told us that it would ruin our marriage. But we are still together, and plan to stay that way. It helps to have different interests. My wife writes and I spend a lot of time thinking.
Life threatening situations
We got caught in a terrible storm between Gibraltar and the Canary Islands that raged for 3 days. I have never seen such waves. Luckily, we were saved by an American that we had met before.
2007: Finish Line
We plan to return to Turkey in August 2007. I won't go back into business. I will probably teach sailing. We spent all our money on this trip! We need to earn some more cash. A Canadian sailing school is interested in sending students for us to train. You can contact us at www.quicknav.com.
