A crazy idea or a life-long dream?
A bit of both.
If you ask David when he first had the idea to sail around the world, he’ll tell you that he can’t remember not having this dream. And in our dating days, when we were learning about each other and asking questions like ‘What’s on your bucket list?’ this adventure was most certainly discussed. ‘Someday…’ we said. And then of course, life happened. The practicalities of jobs, homes and raising a family happily took centre stage.
Then, a little global pandemic came along. About a year into that ordeal, like so many others, we found ourselves talking extensively about the holidays and adventures we’d want to take once those precious opportunities were given back to us. This was the context for what we refer to as THE Conversation. One morning, as we sat across from each other at our kitchen table, David casually shared that he’d begun to look into what it would take to actually take on a round-the-world sailing trip. My heart started beating rapidly. In a good way. In a way I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Taken January 1, 2021… mere weeks before THE Conversation would change everything.
If memory serves, we went from having that first casual conversation, to mapping out a plan that would get us to the starting line of this adventure, within a matter of weeks. It was almost as if we knew that if we didn’t jump in immediately - and with all of our feet - we might never do it.
There were careers to be navigated and negotiated. Properties to be sold/rented. Schooling for Elliot to be researched. Training to be undertaken. Oh, and the minor detail of a boat to be built.
And so…here we are. Wherever in the journey you are joining us, we are glad you are here.
David, Joy & Elliot Poole
(The three of us make up the core, permanent crew of Pure Joy, but we will welcome several special family and friends for parts of the journey. You’ll meet them over at the blog for sure!)
This quote made its way to our family bulletin board sometime shortly after THE Conversation and remained there until the day we set off - a daily reminder of why we are doing this.
FAQ
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16 months is the plan. We set sail from St Lucia on January 11th 2025 and return to St. Lucia in April of 2026.
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We are taking this around-the-world trip with the World ARC - a rally of about 30 boats which will follow the same plan and rendezvous in various spots around the world. As these spots are planned out in advance, we have a decent idea of where we will be and when over the course of 2025-26. Check it out HERE.
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In a word, no. We’ve got a super strong satellite connection on the boat, which means we can work from wherever we are. Joy will continue to support female leaders through coaching and her online course, and David will continue to advise businesses. To be fair, we will be working at a much reduced capacity while we focus on the adventure of a lifetime…and homeschooling Elliot!
We count ourselves very fortunate to be able to do this without selling everything we own. A combination of a few clutch business/career decisions, a couple of sacrifices, a big helping of hard work, a dash of luck and privilege and a highly rentable home have come together to make this dream financially viable for us. So we plan to make the most of it!
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It’s a 52-foot catamaran with 3 cabins and 2 heads. We chose this boat because it felt like the right combo of speed and comfort for a long family trip.
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This is the most frequent and toughest question we get. It’s difficult first, because there are SO MANY far-flung, bucket-list destinations on the plan. But also because we have a sneaking suspicion that the whole ‘it’s about the journey not the destination’ cliche is about to prove itself VERY true for us. We’ll keep you posted on that! (Subscribe to the newsletter!)