The Hynes Honeymoon!

Author: Elizabeth Hynes

Our friends didn't really believe us when we said we planned to quit our jobs, get married, rename a sailboat "honeymoon" and attempt to sail it halfway around the world to Australia. It did sound a bit extreme (to say I was in over my head would be putting it lightly), but my husband had been sailing his entire life and I was all for living a life-less-ordinary, so we went for it! Little did I know I would return home 16 months later with a bun in the oven and the idea for what would eventually become VacayStyle.com.

Oh, and did I mention I get seasick? When we first set-off I wasn't even sure I wanted to do the passages. The idea of heading off shore for multiple days (with no way off) was definitely concerning. Over time, I realized that I wanted the personal challenge and the sense of accomplishment that would come with finishing each passage, and before I knew it I was stepping off the boat onto a dock in the BVIs having completed my first 9 day passage.

Sailing, in fact, is a small part of cruising around the world. About 85% of the time we were anchored in a beautiful place just waiting to be snorkeled, hiked, fished or photographed. We spent a few months in the Caribbean, a couple of weeks in the Galapagos, nearly a month in Bora Bora and eventually we finally landed in Australia. Our longest sail was 20 days across the Pacific Ocean - nearly three weeks at sea - without seeing anything man-made with the exception of a tanker ship on night 11. Being literally in the middle of the ocean on a small boat is an amazing thing. We felt insignificant compared to the large scheme of the vast ocean, almost as if we were the last people on Earth.

But it wasn't all easy. My husband became quite proficient repairing our diesel generator, while I learned how to pack for a 16 month trip in one suitcase. I learned the value of versatile, easy, stylish pieces that look amazing and can be dressed up or down. At the time, I did not realize it but I was creating the concept for Vacay.

In the end, my husband and I learned to work hard and appreciate our short time in these beautiful isles. But we also learned a slower pace of life. We read books, we watched the sun rise and set. We explored the world around us. Toward the end of the trip I was ready to return to work, ready to be challenged mentally and ready to have our first baby (we came home 3 month pregnant)!

And as it turns out, it all turned out. Seth and I both got our corporate jobs back; we bought a house and ended up having three little boys in three years! And just four months ago, I launched VacayStyle.com bringing my vision for an easier way to look fantastic on vacation to life.

For now, we are happy as landlubbers, busy with careers and family, but we dream of circumnavigating again one day with our sons and showing them this amazing, different way of living a life...

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Vessel Name:	Honeymoon
Vessel Make/Model:	2004 Lagoon 380, Hull 279, Owner's Version
Hailing Port:	San Francisco, CA
Crew:	Seth & Elizabeth Hynes
About:	Seth & Elizabeth met in 2004 and have long since agreed that they did not want to live "the typical life. [...] More
Extra:	OUR EXPERIENCE: Seth is a lifelong sailor with over 25 years of boating experience. His family taught him to sail via ASA instruction and through many weekend trips on their family boat, a Benateau 35, sailed on Lake St. Clair, Michigan. He then moved to San Francisco where he raced with two [...] one-design sailing teams before joining his families racing boat "Shadowfax," a classic Wianno Senior design based in Osterville, Mass. Elizabeth is an adventurer by spirit and has traveled all around the world for both pleasure and work. While living in England she sailed in Croatia on the Med and also with the Hynes family in the Grenadines. Elizabeth is also part of the "Shadowfax" racing team and she looks forward to becoming a more confident Captain over the course of the next year. THE BOAT: Having never sailed a catamaran before in our lives, choosing to purchase one was very difficult. However, the more we researched the boats the more we liked them. Catamarans are great for cruising with their shallow draft and large living accommodations. They also feature inherent back-ups which improve safety; like two hulls, two rudders, two engines and props. Once we learned that Cats crossed the oceans regularly, we took a solid look at the options out there, of which there were plenty. In the end, the Lagoon 380 stood out from the rest of the fleet for its dependability, successful production history and interior comforts. Our boat is a three berth "Owner's Version" that has never been chartered and has a larger head with a standing shower. When this was discovered, the search was over. After all, if Elizabeth is happy, Seth will be happy! THE ITINERARY: From the beginning it was always our plan to sail from the East Coast of the US to Australia, stopping along the way in the Caribbean and Central America. However, being new to the cruising life, we didn't want to force ourselves to do anything we didn't want, so the itinerary was left open. Not surprisingly, we loved our time cruising in the Caribbean but yearned for more of an adventure and opted to cross the Pacific Ocean in search of islands less visited. What we found was exactly what we were looking for. And in the end, Australia was a perfect boat market for a Catamaran and an end to an incredible 18 months of sailing. Below was our itinerary: SEPTEMBER, 2008: Refit boat in Norfolk, Virginia USA OCTOBER, 2008: Refit and sail Chesapeake to Annapolis, MD NOVEMBER, 2008: Caribbean 1500 rally to BVIs British Virgin Islands, Caribbean DECEMBER, 2008: St. Martin, St. Barts, Ile Fourche, Statia, St. Kitts, Nevis, Montserrat JANUARY, 2009: Dominica, Antigua, Barbuda, The Saints, Guadeloupe FEBRUARY: Guadeloupe, Bonaire, Curacao, San Blas Islands, Panama MARCH: Cross through the Panama canal, Galapagos APRIL: Pacific Ocean Crossing, Marquesas French Polynesia MAY: Marquesas, Tuamotus, Tahiti JUNE: Moorea, Huahine, Ta'haa, Bora Bora JULY: Bora Bora to Suwarrow, Cook Islands AUGUST: Niue and Vava'u Tonga SEPTEMBER: Tonga and Fiji OCTOBER: Fiji and Vanuatu NOVEMBER & DECEMBER: Eastern Australia, Bundaburg to Sydney JANUARY: Fly home from Sydney to San Francisco. Quickly get jobs during a recession. Start a family. Buy a house. Start fanatically reading other sailor's blogs. More
Home Page:	http://www.sailblogs.com/member/honeymoon/