Hi there! We are Mike and Colleen (and Henry the dog), and we welcome you to join us on our journey as we move from busy working lives to a life that is less busy and a whole lot more adventurous! We are in the process of selling our home in Hawaii and moving onboard our 42′ catamaran, Air Bender, to travel full time. We will take a quick shake down cruise around the Hawaiian islands in April and then head north in May. We plan to spend the summer months exploring the southeast coast of Alaska.
But – before we can do that – we still have more stuff to get rid of, a house to sell and lots of (never-ending) boat projects to complete. It seems we’ve given away truckloads of belongings, and even sold a few, but there is still more that will have to go. We made the decision not to have a storage unit. A very few sentimental items, such as heirloom quilts and christmas decorations, have made their way to the kids. Other than that, if it can’t go on the boat, it has to go away. Remaining major boat projects include installing 3 additional solar panels, 2 heaters, and a cockpit enclosure. Oh yeah – and finding a place on the boat for the stuff above that we didn’t get rid of! There is still a lot to learn – especially for me (Colleen), as Mike is the experienced sailor. Weather, communications systems, diesel engines – oh my! But they say that continual learning keeps the mind young, right?
So come along for the ride – I’m sure there will be fun, challenges and a bunch of good stories along the way. Until next time…live the adventure!
Can’t wait to sail along with y’all!! ❤️
Wishing you smooth sailing and wonderful experiences 🙏
Wow! So excited for you and can’t wait to follow along!!
Colleen, I wish you and your husband safe travels and I will keep checking your posts. What an exciting change to your lives!! Take care. Janice
Bon Voyage to you both – can’t wait to hear your adventures. xx
Bon Voyage to you both. Can’t wait to hear your adventures x
Fair winds and following seas. Enjoy the adventure and be save
That sounds so fun! Praying that all your adventures are safe. I can’t wait to see pictures of your exciting new life.
Glad to hear progress is being made and you are save. Thanks for keeping us “land locked” mis-adventurers posted about pr ogres and wondering “what is a trip like that really like”. we can only make believe. George
FYI – for those who have asked me about the name “Shift Colors” here is what I found
“Shift Colors” means the flags of the ship have gone from her at-sea flags to her in-port flags signaling to the crew that the ship has been made fast to the pier and they have returned to solid ground.”
right now I guess Mike and Colleen have changed flags from port to sea??