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OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, July 8, 2009 · 4 Family sets sail for south seas adventure By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF T hey put their house up for rent, said goodbye to their jobs and took the kids out of school to embark on the journey of a lifetime. Last week, Kirk and Elizabeth Brouse, along with their 10-year-old twins Claire and Wesley, friend Peter Hager and dog Skipper, rode their sailboat Discovery out of Oakville Harbour to begin an adventure that will stretch from one corner of the world to the other. The journey, which could last as long as two years, will see the 57-foot sailboat travel up the Saint Lawrence to Saint Margaret's Bay, N.S., where it will enter the Atlantic Ocean and sail down to the coast of Hampton, Virginia. From there the boat will continue south to the Virgin Islands, Panama, Venezuela and go through the Panama Canal at which point it will be decided if the journey ends or goes forward. "I hope we keep going," said Wesley, who noted he is looking forward to seeing the giant tortoises of the Galapagos Islands. The lead up to this event dates back to when Kirk and Elizabeth were on their first date in 1990. "Over coffee he looked me deeply in the eyes and said,' There's something you should know about me,' and I thought `Oh, no. He's married, he's weird,' but then he said, `One day I'm going to sail around the world" said Elizabeth. "I thought he might grow out of it, but he hasn't so I've grown into it." Elizabeth went on to note that with the arrival of their children the desire to sail around the world remained and a decision was made that the voyage had to take place when the children turned 10. "At 10, the kids are old enough to be able to help out, but young enough so that they still want to be around you," said Kirk. "The really big component of this trip is to give our kids some perspective on the world. You can do that many ways, but a boat represents some self-sufficiency while exploring, while adventuring." This spirit of adventure is not lost on the children who spoke eagerly about the voyage. Claire noted she is excited about reaching Nova Scotia where the boat will stay for a few months giving Claire ample time to enjoy the LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER ALL ABOARD: The Brouse family, (l-r) Kirk, Claire, Wesley and Elizabeth, on board their sailboat, Discovery, just prior to sailing out of Oakville Harbour. beaches and to be spoiled by her grandparents who reside there. "I am really looking forward to this," she said. Wesley said he has his ups and downs when it comes to his feelings about the trip. "I don't want to leave my friends," he said. "We're just moving to a new school so all my friends are going to be there and I'm not, but still I'm going to love the trip. I love sailing, especially with my dad because we go sailing a lot." While getting everyone behind the excursion is one thing, making it happen was something completely different. At first Kirk and his friend Greg put together a plan to actually build the boat themselves, but after several years with little progress it was decided a new approach was needed. Finally direction came in 2007 in the form of the Internet. "We bought her on eBay," said Elizabeth. "For a while when we were trying to figure out what to name her I said we should name her `Highest Bidder' or name her after eBay, but that probably would have been a copyright infringement." In the end the boat was examined at it's mooring in Portland, Maine and sailed back to Oakville. While some may question the wisdom of buying a boat online, on this particular occasion all seemed to be as advertised. The indoor portion of the boat has the appearance of a log cabin, complete with dining table and lounges. Kirk noted that while the boat is amazing to look at, some of the most important features go way beyond the aesthetics. "As it turned out, the guy I bought the boat from put four years of work into making this boat capable of doing all the things we want it to do," he said. "It's got everything from single sideband radio to a desalinator so we can make fresh water out of salt water. We've got full refrigerator and freezer systems and all kinds of radar, really just everything to be self sufficient and to be able to cross oceans." A barbecue was also added for good measure. While actually buying the boat was an important part of getting ready for the journey, it was only the beginning. Elizabeth had to do extensive research into home schooling, so Claire and Wesley's education can continue during their two-year journey. The family had to be vaccinated against everything from Hepatitis A and meningitis to Yellow fever and typhoid fever. Beyond that, the family also put their Oakville home up for rent and Kirk took a leave of absence from his job in investor relations, which he is not entirely sure he'll be able to return to afterwards. It's all worth the experience ahead he noted. "The idea of making money just for the sake of making money has never been much of an inspiration to me. This has been something to get me up every day for the past 10 years, not that these guys haven't been also," said Kirk, provoking laughter from his family. "People have different ambitions and money has not been a sufficient ambition for me to want to work, so this became a goal to work towards." See Change page 9 Tim Hortons Free Swim. It's our thanks to you. Your local Tim Hortons is happy to bring you Tim Hortons free swim ­ complimentary swimming time at your local pool. For a schedule of times and locations, drop by your local Oakville Tim Hortons location for more details. © Tim Hortons, 2007