Denison, Iowa couple casts off convention for full-time sailboat living in North America
They sold their Denison, Iowa home.
He quit a job at which he was really, really next-level good — the economic development director for Crawford County.
They sold and sold, possession after possession.
Now my friends Evan and Meriah Blakley, (officially formerly from Denison) are living for the next year on a 25-foot sailboat (which they bought off eBay on the cheap) as they travel from Evan's native state of Tennessee along rivers and canals down to the Gulf of Mexico and then around Florida, up the East Coast and through Canada — and then back south to the Midwest. You can follow their journey through a website, Sailing Novella. You can also follow on Facebook.
“The website will soon have a live tracker showing our exact location and heading,” Evan says.
Way cool.
Friends helped see them off at a cast-off party in Omaha Friday night. I'm thrilled for them.
No one has been more important to the Carroll Times Herald and my newer ventures then Meriah -- one of the more talented ad and graphic designers I've known. She helped me with the launch of a new venture -- the digital and media marketing firm, Mercury Boost. She's produced newspaper and digital ads for a range of businesses and political candidates through her outstanding business, Roo Bea Design Co.
Meriah will continue to work for Mercury Boost and the Carroll Times Herald aboard the sailing vessel, which is outfitted with big-time high tech, as they travel The Great Loop.
Here is how Evan describes The Great Loop:
Over the summer we cut our teeth at Branched Oak Lake in Lincoln, NE. This was our training ground; our “kiddie pool” as one dock mate said. Next week we will be embarking on The Great Loop, a 6,000 mile adventure that we will begin in my home state of Tennessee. From there we will head down to Mobile, AL, then to the Florida Gulf Coast, up the East Coast to New York and then into Canada, across the Great Lakes and then finally down the river systems of the Midwest to where we began. Around 200 people on average complete this journey each year, which I have learned is fewer than ascend Mt. Everest. Whether we fly high or fall on our faces, I’m happy to have the chance to give it a try.
(Douglas Burns is a fourth-generation Iowa journalist and founding member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative.)
Evan and Meriah—so many “trailer sailors” just dream about what you’re doing, but never do it! Boats are safe in the harbor but that’s not what boats are for. Godspeed Novella!
Bon Voyage. 👋🏾