This is a story about a couple living their dream aboard a 43-foot sailboat.
To get here, we sold everything we owned and left the US for New Zealand with the sole purpose of purchasing a yacht in May of 2001. What was supposed to be a six-month trip turned into a six-year stay and our eventual ownership of Cambria - a Westerly Ocean 43.
In 2007, after years exploring the Hauraki Gulf and Bay of Islands as well as making an off-shore passage to Tonga, it was time to go home and we returned to the US.
Our initial plan was to leave San Diego Harbor and turn left, but we decided we needed to experience what we'd been told were the best cruising grounds in the world ... the Pacific Northwest. After spending four months harbor-hopping up the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington in 2008, we're now based up north where we're in our fifth season of exploring every nook and cranny from Puget Sound to Glacier Bay.
We hope you enjoy the site!
David and Stephanie, S.V. Cambria
David grew up in Middlesbrough , England US Las Vegas
He has over forty years of sailing experience first taking to the water on the lakes and reservoirs of Northern England. The possibility of sailing beyond local bays and harbours first caught his imagination in 1967 when Sir Francis Chichester circumnavigated the globe in Gipsy Moth IV. It wasn't until twenty-four years later that his dream of cruising began to take shape and a further ten before it was realized.
A Mechanical Engineer by education, David can fix absolutely ANYTHING on a boat (though he’s never as sure as Stephanie is about his abilities) and is the captain of this motley crew, but don’t let the title fool you, Sally and I run the ship!
In addition to sailing, David enjoys playing the guitar, both the acoustic and electric variety (which live in our vee-berth along with an amplifier, Jamvox and assortment of pedals). He also enjoys motorsports (both as a participant and a spectator), flying planes (though he's no longer current), music (also playing bass, drums, and keyboards), kayaking, and travelling.
Stephanie was born in Massachusetts where her love for the ocean began during family weekend trips to the beach. She grew up in land-locked Kansas but, after earning degrees in French and International Studies, accepted a teaching position in Las Vegas where she eventually met David through a mutual friend.
She got her first taste of sailing on Lake Mead in David’s Hunter 33, Sunswept. After spending five days inching their way to the mouth of the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon, she was sold on the idea of cruising and began to form her own version of the dream.
A French teacher by education, Stephanie has absolutely no DIY skills whatsoever but is quite adept at breaking things, which keeps David busy. She can, however, sort through a cruising guide at an alarming rate, earning her the title of “navigator”, and chooses our destinations and the routes that take us there.
In addition to sailing, Stephanie enjoys writing and is the voice behind the blogs, e-mails and Facebook page. She also enjoys hiking, kayaking, politics, knitting, reading, camping, travelling, music and long walks.
Sally was born on a farm in Kansas and spent the first five years of her life as a house-dog before moving to New Zealand and aboard her first boat in 2001. At nearly 18 years-old, she was an exceptional boat-dog and a valued member of our crew. She was well-travelled and covered more than 40,000 miles by land, air, sea and paws (and all without the aid of a passport!).
She loved going for walks, exploring new places, lounging around the boat, meeting new friends (both the 2 and 4 legged varieties), eating, sleeping and begging for treats. Sadly, Sally passed away in June of 2014 leaving a huge hole in our lives and Cambria's crew list.
