It’s bright. I’m looking out the window of our bedroom at Quincey’s parents house where we’ve been for the last three weeks. The sun is reflecting off a few inches of fresh snow, and it’s bright. Another reflection, cerebral this time, is 2020. We’ve had our ups and downs, for sure, but we’ve gravitated towards positive change wherever possible. Of course, Q+M Travels—as an adventure travel company—certainly furled its sails, but it didn’t come to a grounding halt. We’ve shifted our focus, reevaluated our income streams, and moved to Southern California. The future is bright for us—or at least we’re manifesting it will be. 

We founded our business in the summer of 2017 and by the spring of 2018 we were sailing our dream boat home from Panama (thanks to the help of our friends, no doubt). That following summer was difficult for us financially but we did what we always do; we figured out a way to make it work. Q and I found employment with very flexible companies that allowed us to still focus on QMT as a side business. Huge thanks to Berkeley Marine Center and OCSC Sailing. That got us through the winter of ’18-’19 and by summer, while still employed part time, QMT was gaining traction. We booked a charter to sail an expedition vessel from Vancouver to San Francisco (summer ’19) and almost sold every bunk. Then we booked a two week adventure charter in the Caribbean (for April ‘20) and sold out. We were selling out every offering we posted on AirB&B’s Adventure platform, and we were building a public profile that was self perpetuating. Of course, winter of ’19-’20 slowed down a bit for income, but the word was out, we were booking for summer 2020 before the snow was melting in the Sierras. This might be it! We might be able to move Esprit to Mexico come Fall, as we’d always planned.

Then, well, we’re all too aware how everything changed in March. However, for me, it was a kick out of the nest. I lost my job at the sailing school that had provided us great opportunity and flexibility and after a month of unemployment and worry, I stuck my neck out and started looking for repair work on privately owned boats. Turns out, I only need a few clients to compete with the income I was making working for a corporation. A few more clients and QMT was financially secure again. Only this time we’re doing business as Mitchell’s Yacht Management. Quincey was able to continue working full time as her job in the boatyard was considered essential. Thankfully, they continued to be flexible and we were able to sail, a lot.

Sailing the Bay has always been exhilarating, but most of the time—on Esprit at least—we had guests aboard. With that option out the window, we were really able to focus on sailing her as a couple. This was beneficial in many ways, namely I was able to spend a lot more time fine tuning the sails and balance during times when I would usually be entertaining our guests or teaching them how to drive. It also gave us an opportunity for a lot of role reversal. Quincey took the helm more often and I spent a lot more time on deck handling sails and lines. Also, without guests we were able to go where we wanted, when we wanted, and more than once that meant staying anchored rather than setting sail. A welcome change of pace. 

We also managed to do two longer cruises. One up the Sacramento Delta, and another to help deliver a friends boat to Ventura. The cruise up the Delta, 100nm inland, was an experience that deserves its own blog post. However, as a teaser, check out the following photos. The sail down the coast and around the infamous Pt. Conception was a turning point for us. We’d been considering a relocation to Southern CA for a couple years but hoped we could pass that option up by just moving even further South and continually around the world. However—given the circumstances and feeling stagnant in the Bay Area—when we arrived in Ventura aboard the Mason 43 Sea Castle, we knew we’d be making a semipermanent move in the near future. Our friends Marissa and Chris made an awesome video of the trip, check it out. It was an eudemonic experience.

If you know us, you know we’ve always complained about the Bay Area being cold. I’ll spare you the Mark Twain quote about the coldest winter he ever spent was a summer in San Francisco… The weather in Ventura during our visit in July was unseasonably cold (the low pressure we’d managed to stay well in front of on our sail from Berkeley had now descended on the beach in Southern California) but it was still warmer than where we’d left and I was comfortable in shorts. The Channel Islands were within sight, the marina was clean and well managed, the ocean breeze was 15kts out of the Northwest, and Quincey had a big grin on her face the whole time!

In August Quincey started a remote tech job so we’d be able to ease the inevitable financial strain any move brings with it, I started to pass on my clients to friends in the business, and we announced we’d be leaving at the end of October. We were gravitating towards positive change, and we’re glad we did. On October 20th we departed Berkeley for the last time. We had two friends abroad to help with the trip, they were as much entertainment as helpful crew. There will also be a blog about this trip in the near future.

As soon as it’s safe to welcome guests aboard Esprit for multi-day adventures again we’ll have a whole new cruising ground to share. The island of Santa Cruze is only five hours away, providing countless hikes in the National Park and Nature Conservancy and hours of playing in the water and exploring sea caves by paddle board or kayak. The sail home is a classic downwinder, one we cannot wait to share with you. We’re hoping by late summer the pandemic will have subsided enough for you to safely join us for this breathtaking adventure. Also, you read it here first, were musing on a charter for a bit of Midsomer fun in Sweden in 2022!

While we’re often reminded of options and possibilities that were in front of us at the beginning of 2020, we realize we’re still looking at the world from a pretty privileged position. We miss regular gatherings with friends and entertaining strangers in our cockpit but know this is a small blip in time. We still have our friends (though, often at a distance), our health, and our home. If that’s the starting for 2021, our future is as bright as ever.