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Maryland Family Departs On Year-Long Sailing Expedition

By: Tara Boyle // December 7, 2012
  
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The Johnson family of Oxford, Md. is departing on a year-long sailing expedition around the world in their 62-foot catamaran, named Elcie.
Tara Boyle
The Johnson family of Oxford, Md. is departing on a year-long sailing expedition around the world in their 62-foot catamaran, named Elcie.

Jessica and Richard Johnson of Oxford, Md. are living what some may consider the ultimate dream, sailing all over the world on their 62-foot catamaran, Elcie. And they just departed on another big trip, bringing their children — 11-year-old Emma and 9-year-old Molly — along for the journey.

Molly has been on a boat since she was a toddler, and both she and her big sister work as deckhands on board Elcie.

"I don't want to leave my friends here, but I also want to go on all these adventures and swim in coral reefs," she says.

Jessica and Richard will make sure Molly and Emma keep up with their studies, incorporating lessons about the countries they visit as they sail into the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal and across the Pacific Ocean to New Zealand.

The family will also be welcoming other people on board to take part in their expedition. Jessica says the preparation for such a major trip is intense.

"Sometimes the most relaxing time is once you cast off the dock lines and you can kind of get into your shipboard routine," she says. There's lots and lots of things to pay attention to... and we look forward to getting underway."


[Music: "Let Me Tell You About My Boat" by Mark Mothersbaugh from The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou Original Soundtrack]

MC: Year-Long Sailing

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