After nearly four years of living primarily afloat, Sara and Bob Knapp of 1 Woodland Road sailed back into their home port of Salem, Mass. earlier this month with their yellow labrador, Bentley aboard.
The couple reported visiting 70 islands, representing 23 countries, 11 currencies and six languages.
"The trip exceeded our expectations," Sara said. "We met so many wonderful people, both other cruisers and locals."
The Knapps left on what they said was an adventure of a lifetime on Oct. 9, 2006 after spending three years fixing up their 38-foot sailboat. They sailed south through New England and down the Intracoastal Waterway to Florida. From there they crossed over to the Bahamas and then down the Caribbean island chain to Trinidad, South America before returning home, they said.
The Knapps offered their observations on the trip in written form, with Bob Knapp saying that despite the storms and other challenges the toughest part of the trip was "the preparations to get ready to go."
"Once we left the dock," he said, "we just figured out everything as we went along."
"Leaving the dock was definitely the hardest part," said Sara Knapp. "We delayed our departure so many times that I finally set a date and said, 'If we are not off the dock by then we are not going.'"
The Knapps sailed through several storms, even at the beginning of the trip.
"On the way south, we had one storm after another every few days," said Bob. "We kept thinking that if we just get a little further south we would be OK, but then we would have another storm."
The worst storm they experienced was Thanksgiving week 2006, in Manteo, N.C., where winds were recorded at 117 mph at the airport nearby, they said. Fortunately there was advanced warning and they were able to get the boat, Windscape II, securely tied in a slip at a marina, they reported.
"I thought I would never hear Bob say, 'We need to get off the boat,' but it was getting so bad by 3 a.m. we were actually getting ready to leave the boat; and then the winds suddenly died," said Sara. "By morning it had become a beautiful day."
Time with their family was what the couple missed most while on their boat for so long, according to Sara, but "we were home for several blocks of time throughout the trip which helped at lot."
The couple was also home several other times to bring their dog back and forth since he was not able to travel in the Caribbean due to restrictions. They said they were not willing to lock away Bentley for two months in quarantine; and he could not do the longer distances between the Caribbean islands because he needed to go ashore twice a day.
Another trip could be on the horizon for the Knapps. They said they would like to take a similar trip again someday, maybe across to the Mediterranean.
For more on the Knapps trip, readers can visit their web site, windscape2.com.
