Selling Everything To Sail On

Send us Fan Mail They sold the farm, let go of the stuff, and pushed off the dock lines with a shared promise: sail around the world together. From their boat in French Polynesia, award-winning author and lifelong sailor Alison Gieschen joins us with her husband Dan to tell the full story behind their liveaboard sailing life on their 43-foot sailboat, Equus, including what it takes to keep moving when the dream gets expensive, exhausting, and genuinely scary. We dig into the turning points that make a circumnavigation real: how Alison’s horsewoman roots and an early “out of nowhere” sailing vision turned into skills, how they met during a sailboat race, and why they decided to sell everything and commit. Then we go straight into the hard part, including their worst storm experience in the Gulf Stream, the damage that forced a turnaround, and the PTSD that lingered long after the repairs. Alison also shares the moment a trusted mentor helped reframe the fear, and why that single conversation kept them out there for eight years and counting. We also talk about the quieter day-to-day realities that rarely make the highlight reels: staying close to kids and grandkids from far away, how minimalism changes your priorities, and how life at sea can create the focus to write books across memoir, children’s literature, and adult fiction. We wrap with their current route plans across the South Pacific, favorite stops like the Azores, and a practical travel-planning lesson from our own Europe prep about booking early when thousands of travelers hit the same ports and airports. Subscribe for more conversations about long-term travel and real-world ways to make it happen, and if you found value here, share the episode and leave a quick review so more travelers can find us. Alison's Website: https://alisongieschen.com/ Also check out: https://sailmates.org/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@sailingequus Download full-color PDFs of my book at prices below Amazon paperbacks. Visit my store at https://shop.jimsantosbooks.com  Subscribe to our Mailing List https://www.buzzsprout.com/2292506/supporters/new http://jimsantos.net https://www.instagram.com/jimsantosblog https://www.youtube.com/@jimsantos508 [email protected] "Wherever We May Roam: Finding Your Travel Style" - On Amazon