Sail Away With Me

My parents and some of their close friends went on a cruise in Alaska last year. They spent several wonderful days on board a large luxury liner that sailed them along the Inside Passage of Alaska and when they returned, they raved about the experience. Earlier this year they were planning to take another cruise though they weren't sure where they wanted to go. There was debate over whether they should take a trip where they would spend most of their time on the ship or take a trip where there would be numerous ports of call. Part of the reason for the debate stemmed from the fact that there is just so much to do on a ship that it isn't necessary to get down at any port of call since there are restaurants, casinos, shows, movies, and almost anything else, available to the passengers. That being said, it's a very sharp contrast to the cruise that Reid Stowe and Soanya Ahmad began this past Saturday. Stowe, a veteran sailor for over forty years is taking his girlfriend Ahmad, a college student who has never sailed beyond the Hudson River ferry, on a cruise around the world for 1000 days.

The catch is that there will be no ports of call and the pair will not set foot on land until 1000 days have elapsed. According to Stowe, the journey is comparable to a journey to Mars and therefore he feels it would be 'cheating' to land somewhere and resupply. They have stuffed Stowe's 60-foot schooner with as much food and supplies as it can carry. They have a device that the ship drags that will help catch fish, they will use tarps to catch rainwater and use desalinization to make drinking water from seawater. They have bags and bags of rice and pasta and hopefully, a large amount of patience. Stowe has been looking to make this journey for a long time and he invited Ahmad along when they met on the waterfront in Manhattan four years ago. In that time, they began to date and soon after decided to take the trip together.

You must admit that there is a bit of romance in this concept. I mean aside from the fact that a guy is taking his girlfriend on a cruise around the world, there is something romantic about returning to the earliest days of exploration of man. Much of the world we know today was discovered by sailors and sea-farers who made the dangerous journey into the unknown to find new destinations. And although the ship on which Stowe and Ahmad are travelling has conveniences such as e-mail and satellite-based communication, they are trying to sustain themselves on the journey as much as possible. To hear that they'll be on board a ship for 1000 days in and of itself doesn't sound like much but when you add it up, that's nearly three years. Imagine spending three years of your life confined to your room; pretty soon that concept of a romantic journey goes out the porthole and you begin to think that perhaps this wasn't such a good idea afterall.

Like anything in this fast-moving modern world we live in, this story will likely make news for a few weeks and then it will be forgotten until something tragic occurs (which hopefully it won't) or until they complete their journey. One good thing is that at least this journey won't be like the ones early explorers took where when they crossed the horizon, there was rarely ever a sign of them until they returned. In this case I'm sure that Stowe and Ahmad will keep in contact with their families and let their well-wishers and corporate sponsors know how the journey is going but I'm sure it's going to be an adventure that neither one of them will forget. I just hope the ship has more than one bathroom.