Boating in paradise: Couple to sail Caribbean
By Andrea Stetson Special to The News-Press
A Naples couple is about to set sail on an adventure of a lifetime. They are leaving their jobs, the comforts of home and dry ground to spend a year sailing around the Caribbean on their 37-foot sailboat with their poodle mix, Oliver.
Kimberly Young and Jereme Shaidle, both 31, purchased the Endeavour in May and have been fixing it up ever since as they prepare for their long sail. Shaidle added solar panels and new bathroom plumbing to modernize the vessel. The couple has been preparing with everything from charting their course to getting special documents needed to bring their dog into the various island countries they plan to visit.
“This has been a dream three years in the making,” Young said. “We want to do something for us now while we can. We want to take some time to enjoy life.”
Their journey will begin with a trip to Key West and then on to the Bahamas. Then they plan to head east to the Turks and Caicos, Virgin Islands and Windward Islands and into the eastern Caribbean. They plan to head south as far as South America, and then begin the journey back.
“I’m just excited to see tons of new places and have new adventures and meet new people and see new cultures,” Young said.
“I hear the Bahamas are the cruising grounds of the world,” Shaidle said.
Young and Shaidle said they have been saving money for this trip for years. Shaidle had worked as a civil engineer for Collier County, and Young was a photographer. They expect the trip to cost them about $2,000 a month.
“Anchoring is free,” Shaidle said. “We plan to do as much anchoring as we can and only go to ports if something breaks.”
The couple says they are self-taught sailors. Shaidle took an American Sailing associates class, but learned most of the information he needed by reading and reseraching online.
The boat, named Laho after Shaidle’s grandfather, has two bedrooms, a living room with a two more pull-out beds and a pull-out table, a bathroom and kitchen. The couple says it’s fun that both of them and the sailboat were born in 1982. Most of their sails will be one day jaunts. On longer journeys between islands, they plan to take turns sailing all day and night.
Shaidle says he’s not worried about sailing or the weather.
“I am not overly concerned about our safety,” he said. “The number one thing is being careful. One slip and fall and you could be out of commission. One fluke accident and things could change.”
To keep them safe, the couple has tethers to use when hoisting sails or walking on the bow. They have life jackets with beacons as personal locators and technology to communicate with people on shore.
Young and Shaidle plan to paddleboard, snorkel and explore numerous islands. Young also plans to document the entire trip.
“I will be writing a blog and doing a lot of photography,” she said. “It’s just capturing this time in our lives. We are making these memories and documenting them for the rest of our lives.”
The sailing adventures of Young, Shaidle and their dog Oliver can be followed at lahowind.com or facebook.com/lahowind
PHOTO: Kimberly Young, Jereme Shaidle and their poodle mix, Oliver, get ready to set sail for a year on their 37-foot sailboat. / Special to The News-Press
For more on this story go to:
