089 | Family Afloat: Life Lessons of Two-year Sailing Adventure with Jim Toomey
Jim Toomey is an American cartoonist. His daily comic strip, Sherman’s Lagoon, combines his lifelong passion for art and the sea and has been syndicated to over 150 newspapers in 20 countries and six languages. In partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, Jim has repurposed his cartooning skills into animation and created a series of short films on ocean conservation. He is the author of Family Afloat: Two Years Sailing the World with Two Kids and Two Captains, which chronicles the 22-month sailing odyssey he took with his wife, Valerie, visiting 32 countries, crossing an ocean, and homeschooling their two children along the way.
Jim joins me today to describe the two-year sailing adventure he had with his family and the unique joys of self-determined travel. You’ll hear how the adventure brought his family closer together and changed his children. He recounts his experience diving in the Gulf of Mexico in an Alvin submersible and the wonderful sights he has seen underwater. You’ll also learn the value of boredom and how to tackle the challenge of “going before you know.”
“Your whole life revolves around setting your anchor well when you live in a sailboat, and we learned the hard way that it wasn’t an easy thing to do.”
- Jim Toomey
This week on Kathy Sullivan Explores:
● The event that led to Jim and his family going on their two-year sailing adventure
● Lining up and anchoring boats and the difference between day sailing and extended cruising
● How the two-year sailing adventure changed Jim’s children and brought the family together
● Being bored and being forced to be resourceful
● Weathering weather changes and storms over the Mediterranean Sea
● The value of having a better Plan B
● Avoiding crises by recognizing—and avoiding—the start of a cascade of problems
● The bosun’s chair and the value of developing mastery in the real world
● Jim’s experience diving with an Alvin submersible
● How flying over the Bahamas inspired Jim to create Sherman’s Lagoon
● The two ways to fail a procedure
● The watchkeeping system and Jim’s next adventures
Our Favorite Quotes:
● “The learning curve in sailing is long and shallow: you can learn the basics in a day, but, like a lot of things, it takes a lifetime to learn the subtleties.” - Jim Toomey
● “You'll always feel like you’re climbing a summit and you’ll never feel like you’re at the top. If you wait until you’re at the top, you will never go—you have to make the decision to make this voyage.” - Jim Toomey
Related Content:
● 075 | Sherman’s Lagoon and the Art of Cartooning with Jim Toomey
Connect with Jim Toomey:
● Book: Family Afloat: Two Years Sailing the World with Two Kids and Two Captains
Spaceship Not Required
I’m Kathy Sullivan, the only person to have walked in space and gone to the deepest point in the ocean.
I’m an explorer, and that doesn’t always have to involve going to some remote or exotic place. It simply requires a commitment to put curiosity into action.
In this podcast, you can explore, reflecting on lessons learned from life so far and from my brilliant and ever-inquisitive guests. We explore together in this very moment from right where you are--spaceship not required.
Welcome to Kathy Sullivan Explores.