What will I do with the next decade? I absolutely love this question, because it really makes me think. I am constantly asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I really have no clue what I want to do for a living yet, and my answer to that question is always, “I don’t know.” I don’t have a career path in mind at the moment, but there are many things I really would love to experience in my life, such as: a road-trip across the States with friends, visiting Asia and riding on an elephant, perhaps cycling around New Zealand, and a part of me has always wanted to know what it would be like to live on a beach in Spain. I like this question because instead of asking what we want do when we grow up, this class is telling us to chase our dreams. I took a sailing course several summers back, and had so much fun. Ever since I did the sailing course, it has been one of my dreams to sail around the Mediterranean Sea.

I was fortunate enough to get to interview Tessa Griffin and her husband, Peter LaMantia, who sailed around Turkey for a summer. Tessa was born in Toronto, lived in Montreal and England, and then moved back to Toronto at the age of thirteen. Peter was born in Lindsay, Ontario. They now live in Toronto with three children. Tessa spent years as an elementary school teacher, and is now pursuing visual arts. Peter spent years running a tree planting company in British Columbia, entered the technology space in the mid-1990’s, and now heads a web services technology business.

Waiting for dinner in Istanbul. From left to right, Peter, Angus, Antonia, Tessa and Oliver

Tessa first sailed solo on a dinghy when she was eight years old. I asked her how long it took to plan their trip around Turkey. Tessa told me that she has always been on sailing trips with people who have invited her to join them. She actually has never planned her own trip, but here are a few different scenarios for planning your own sailing excursion:

1. You have your own boat that you know how to sail and navigate, but you need a crew.
2. You charter a boat from the place you begin your voyage (you know how to sail and navigate) and you bring your own crew.
3. If you do not have the confidence to captain and navigate your own sail boat and wish to charter a boat, bring along some friends with sailing experience.

Although in all 3, you will need:

• Time to line up your crew - sometimes a year in advance.
• Book your airline tickets - as early as possible
• In certain countries, you must obtain visas in order to be able to travel there.
• Plan your route and research the places you want to go. Make sure you know where there are towns with food, so you can plan meals in coves, or overnight sails if this is your plan.

Coastal Town on the Greek Island Samos

I asked Tessa what she loves about sailing, and she said, “I love the independence of being able to go where you want, when you want, as opposed to a cruise ship. I like doing the work of sailing a boat…again, as opposed to a cruise ship. You are in a home on the water in a foreign country, exposed to new experiences at your command. The wind on your face, being outdoors, and coming into port are so wonderful.”

I was curious to know the pros and cons of being on a sailboat for a long period of time. Tessa told me that her pros were listed in the above response. The cons are seasickness and bad crew dynamics (there’s nowhere to go when on a boat). If something goes wrong with the boat, you are stuck until you can find help and get it fixed. It can be frustrating. It is also an expensive sport.

I asked Tessa if she would ever consider living on a sailboat. Why or why not? “I feel like I am living on a sailboat when I go on a trip, but I have no interest in living on a boat in a permanent way. Not at this stage of my life anyway. But, you never know!!!”

I also asked Tessa what was her favorite part about her sailing trip and if she would ever do something like that again. “My favorite part was coming into a new port feeling special and proud in the sailboat, and having the anticipation of discovering a new place. Yes, I will do it again, and I hope you get your chance, too.”

Their boat "Thyatera"

When Peter was a teenager he went to a sailing camp, and ever since then he has enjoyed sailing. He and his family decided to go on the sailing trip around Turkey approximately nine months prior.

I asked Peter what he loves about sailing, and he said “Non-motorized silence. The sea is exciting, dangerous, and tranquil. The notion that you head out and anything can happen is fun. The tuning of sails to adjust to change, the plotting of courses, the planning for winds and other weather. The social confinement is enjoyable, meaning that you really get to have great conversations. You have an ability to go almost anywhere, and the boat is floating accommodation. Freedom to go anywhere. Discovery of coves and other areas of interest less accessible by land or transport. Ability to get off the boat is also nice.”

There are downsides to everything. I asked Peter what the cons of being on a sailboat for a long period of time were. He said, “Confinement can sometimes be irritating, lack of internet both a pro and a con, with low winds it can become boring, and the sun can sometimes get very hot, particularly in low wind conditions.”

I asked Peter if he would ever consider living on a sailboat. Why or why not? “Not really, although I could consider it for a medium duration: perhaps 6 months to a year, at most. There is too much else to see or do. It can be confining, not a lot of space.”

The last question I had for Peter was, “What was your favorite part of the sailing trip?” He said, “Arriving in a cove, going for a swim, hiking to the top of a peak along the coast. Settling into a cove for the night and venturing in to check out a new location. Pulling in the anchor each morning and heading out for a different location to discover something entirely new. It’s so easy vs. dragging your luggage out of one hotel, getting in transport, and finding a hotel on the other location. With a boat you just weigh anchor and you are gone. I get similar feelings on a canoe trip after one breaks camp. With both, there is more adventure and fun in the process of moving on water vs. a car, where you are restricted to a relatively known highway experience.”

Rowing into shore for dinner from "Thyatera"

I’m still not sure what I would like to do when I grow up. Often people are defined by the jobs they have. The thing is, you are not your job. You’re a combination of the experiences that you will have in your lifetime. Just dream big, set your goals high, and find something you are passionate about.

Becca Tran is a member of the Youth Travel Blogging Mentorship Program

All photos courtesy and copyright Peter LaMantia and Tessa Griffin