In July 2001 we set sail from our home port, Niagara on the Lake, Ontario Canada. We had taken early retirement, purchased Chinook, sold our house and all our possessions, given the kids the cars and waved our friends and family goodbye, embarking on a lifestyle that we were very much excited about trying . Nearly nine t years later we are still very excited - now confirmed 'gypsies of the ocean'...

Chinook took us along the St. Lawrence River, down the New York Canal System to the Hudson River, made the 1000 mile trek down the U.S. Intracoastal Waterway to Florida and crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. Further south, the Turks and Caicos islands awaited, and in the 2002 hurricane season we were hidden safely in the Dominican Republic. On to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, then she slowly island-hopped down the Caribbean to Grenada for the 2003 hurricane season. Meandering northwards again, Chinook launched off from St. Maarten to cross the Atlantic in May 2004. Three months in the beautiful Azores, before completing the final ocean leg the European mainland.

After 13 000 nautical miles to date we are in the muddling in the Mediterranean having spent time in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Morocco, Tunisia, Croatia, and presently lost in the Ionian and Aegean Seas - cruising Greece and Turkey. More than eager to share our experiences with family and friends (hoping to convince them we are really quite sane), our website seems to be a great way to do this. Please enjoy our journeying vicariously and give us feedback.

For our blogging, go to www.chinookofcanada.blogspot.com