This was a monumental move with massive logistics. We took 5 episodes to explain how we moved from Tahiti (our old catamaran Selavi) to Seychelles (our new catamaran Nesi) and started getting her ready to sail south…
Ep3. Birth of a Dream: “a school at sea”
While living in the Tuamotus with our newborn twins, we wondered what would “school” be like for these girls? We dreamed up an audacious idea: what if we built a worldschooling voyage circumnavigating the globe? What if it was a community of boats?? We envisioned having a teacher aboard, families sailing together, with a 60ft catamaran. We called it the Green Coco Expedition.
We made the pitch, fundraised thru our cooperative, and flew halfway around the world. We found Nesiâour future boatâin the Seychelles.
Ep 4. Pitstop in San Francisco: pack the entire ocean into 15 Bags
Before heading out, we had to move out of Selavi. That meant 8 air-shipped boxes, 15 checked bags, two surfboard coffinsâand about 900 pounds of stuff we werenât sure weâd ever see again.
San Francisco was our pit stopâbut the chaos followed us. Visa issues, carry-on drama, ear infections, and two very tired parents navigating customs with groggy kids and a mountain of gear.
We were lucky to land in the warm embrace of our friends Adam and Kendra. Big hugs. Hot showers. Tiny winter jackets!
Ep 5. Pitstop in Bear Valley: trade the tropics for the snow
We always dreamed of a snowy cabin week, and this was our moment.
Bear Valley was pure magic. No cars. Just sleds, skis, and snowmobiles. We skied to the lodge and back to our cabin. Tubed for hours. Rode snowcats. Read library books by the fire. Celebrated the girlsâ 4th birthday in full mountain styleâbedhead, candles, cake, and snow falling outside the windows.
It felt like a total reset. A week unplugged, in nature, doing something wildly different from our norm. The perfect breath before the next plunge.
Ep 6. Heading to Seychelles: monster travel begins
Then came the big haul: California â Dubai â Seychelles.
We braced ourselves for the worstâsleepless kids, baggage disasters, international meltdownsâbut somehow, it was⊠smooth. Three planes. 30+ hours. Zero drama. Wow!!
When we landed in Mahe, it all felt surreal. This time, it wasnât just one of us scouting boatsâit was the whole tribe arriving together. Our bags made it. The kids held it together. Our new chapter was actually beginning.
Ep 7. Moving Aboard in Seychelles: from dream to reality
Nesi looked beautiful in the marinaâbut now we had to live on her.
We quickly realized this wasnât just about unpackingâit was a full systems overhaul. She was still a marina princess, totally reliant on shore power. To go off-grid, we had to reconfigure nearly everything.
We organized parts, food, tools, toysâover 150 storage bins tucked into every hidden space. We dealt with oppressive heat, relentless rain, flaky vendors, and rookie mishaps (like nearly losing our brand-new dinghy on day one).
But then⊠things started to click. We anchored Nesi outside the marina. We brought in our trusted rigger, Ian. We started solving problems. We were turning a floating shell into a real offshore cruising boat.
This move tested every ounce of our patience and courage. But in between the airport chaos and boat repairs, there were snowy birthdays, epic memories, and wild dreams taking shape.
What’s Next?
And now? Weâre sailing again! Next up will be our Shakedown Cruise. We can say this: you are NEVER ready for a shakedown cruise đ We braced ourselves… and kept going forward, as the deadline to sail south swiftly approached.
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âThe Green Coco Expedition Team
PS. Wondering what happened in Episodes 1 and 2? We introduced the voyage, and described the whirlwind of finishing our time in French Polynesia (after living there nearly 7 years!)
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