Melinda and Neal Grieb and their sons Rowan, Ian and Torran at the October 18 Kiwanis Club meeting. Photo Courtesy Kiwanis

BY BROOKE DAVIS
Kiwanis Club

At the Oct. 18 Kiwanis meeting, the Grieb family gave an interesting and entertaining account of their experiences aboard a sailboat, travelling from North Carolina to Granada.

Melinda and Neal Grieb, with their sons Torran, Ian and Rowan, ages 12,10 and 8 respectively, made a life-altering decision to leave their jobs, sell their home, purchase a 38-foot sailboat, and spend a close-quarters one-year family adventure through the Caribbean.

They came by this decision slowly. Both parents have a great love of travel but found it difficult to manage with children and only a few weeks of vacation per year. They envisioned visiting places and sights in much more depth while getting to know more about different cultures and their people. While watching YouTube videos about life aboard a sailboat, they eventually became intrigued by the idea and, as their children were already home schooled, decided to explore the option. Adding to the draw were the fact that water travel is inexpensive when compared to land travel, and that no fixed itinerary means that travelers can stay longer and interact on more levels with the places they visit.

The next step was planning. It took five years of research including, for starters, learning how to sail. They took many courses including sailing certification, offshore emergency medicine, and diesel mechanics. They engaged with a community of other sailors who helped with coaching them on all types of nautical subjects, like reading weather data and patterns, and made a lot of new friends in the process.

For the boys, the high points of their journey included cliff diving in Dominica and befriending and naming the nurse sharks that followed their boat. Their lows were having to severely limit the personal things they could take with them, and (unsurprisingly) doing dishes. Their parents enjoyed the beautiful sunrises and sunsets, all the people they met, and the quality time they got to spend with their sons. The lowest points usually involved fixing the engine and plumbing on hot days. As Neal noted, this comes from being in a “moving structure in a corrosive fluid”.

The entire family is very enthusiastic about their adventure and are already planning a second year at sea.