Janice Couvreux's Ten Years Before the Mast
)
Our speaker for August 3 was Janice Couvreux. She is a writer and traveler. Her talk was about her family’s 10-year sojourn on a sailboat, including two years in France and 8 years traveling from France to Bodega Bay. Her story began with a College “year abroad” in France, where she met and married her husband. After having a son, they decided to buy and live on a 42’ sailboat. They lived on the boat in France for two years, learning to sail, navigate and exist peacefully on a small boat. They had another son while on the trip. After two years they embarked on a phenomenal voyage from France, down the coasts of Spain and Portugal to Gibraltar, and then south along the African coast, visiting Senegal. They crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 30 days and landed in South America near Rio de Janeiro. They traveled to Buenos Aires, stopped at a weather station off eastern French Guiana, through the West Indies and to Florida. Along the way they stopped at various places, rested, worked and saw the sights. Their boat developed engine problems and they headed to Florida at Cape Canaveral where they got jobs and stayed for three years in a run-down shack situated in the midst of luxury homes!
They continued their journey to Cuba, Curacao and Panama. Their stay in Panama coincided with the invasion of Panama in late 1989 (remember “Operation Just Cause?”). At about same time, Janice’s husband became ill with heart problems and was hospitalized. In the middle of a war and without her husband, Janice decided to get out of Panama! So she and took the boat through the Canal to the Pacific Ocean with two small children and no husband! Her goal was to land in San Francisco Bay but due to heavy fog she ended up landing in Bodega Bay, where she had relatives.
Janice and her husband, who fully recovered, have lived in Sonoma County since they landed in Bodega Bay (no surprise to any of us!). Sadly, they ultimately had to sell the sailboat, allowing them to stay in Sonoma County and buy a house. Her husband and two sons are doing well, enriched by their 10 year life on a small sailboat and their amazing trip to Bodega Bay!! You can read about this amazing trip in Janice’s book “Sail Cowabunga!” sold on Amazon, at https://www.fillesvertespublishing.com/product/sail-cowabunga-janis-lasky-couvreux or at Copperfield’s https://www.copperfieldsbooks.com/book/9781946802040.
Many thanks to Janice for telling us about this amazing trip. Her courage and perseverance are truly amazing!
