SAIL.SailMagazine

I watched through stinging spray as my fiberglass dinghy was swamped, turned into a sea anchor, and then quickly snapped its painter as my O’Day 31 surfed down 6-foot seas on Long Island Sound. It probably was unwise to be out on the water that day.

In what he has dubbed the Pink Boat Project, Watson plans to sail around the world non-stop in his 1960 Pearson Triton Hull to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. He will be the first to circumnavigate the world starting from San Francisco and making his way east.

If you haven’t started following Pat and Ali Schulte’s blog on our sister site, Sailfeed.com, you’re missing out on the following: intimate details of the day-to-day of circumnavigating with young kids, adorable snapshots of said kids, lessons learned when fixing a boat in a foreign country and the distinct sense of pleasure that comes with dictating the terms of your own life.

In the next few months, Summerville and fellow sailor Steve Cockerill will sail the 115 nautical miles between Dublin, Ireland, and Southport, England, to raise money for mental health awareness and sailing support services. Sailing on Lasers, their journey will take between 12 and 15 hours to complete, depending on conditions.

I am lounging in the cockpit with a lemonade in hand, sunglasses on my face and flip-flops nearby. The boom above my head drifts from side to side in perfect time with the small waves.