How one family's dream of sailing away to the Bahamas became a reality

Katerina Georgieva · CBC News

· Posted: Jul 15, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Sailing the unfastened seas with their children for a months-long escapade had been a dream for Amherstburg, Ont., teachers Rob and Katie Lynn Ferguson. 

Earlier this year, that imagination became a world erstwhile they bought a sailing catamaran sight-unseen, fixed it up and acceptable sail from Florida to the Bahamas. 

"It was bully to benignant of unrecorded retired our passionateness for truthful galore months," Rob Ferguson said.

For years, helium had obsessively been looking astatine online vessel income for the close fit, while also regularly pursuing sailing vloggers online for inspiration.

"We ever loved sailing. We grew up sailing," helium said.

Ferguson and his woman had planned connected taking sabbaticals from their jobs arsenic precocious schoolhouse teachers for immoderate time, and thought a sailing trip would beryllium a large escapade for them to spell connected with their nine-year aged lad Finn, 12-year-old girl Kora and their pup, Burleigh. 

"I was nervous, obviously, but I was precise excited," Katie Lynn Ferguson said. 

"All 4 of us, I think, are ever up for adventure."

They drove their minivan down to Florida, fixed up their recently purchased sailboat and acceptable sail archetypal to the Florida Keys earlier making their mode crossed the Gulf Stream to the Bahamas. 

'Surpassed each of our expectations'

They would anchor from spot to place, ever connected the move, and they became much and much amazed with however bluish and beauteous the h2o was arsenic they continued to determination east. 

"It would conscionable get much amazing. Like, it surpassed each of our expectations," Rob said. 

The children were location schooled connected the vessel by their ma for astir 2 hours each day, and past they would determination connected to "adventure time," arsenic Katie would enactment it. 

"So that usually entailed swimming of immoderate kind, whether it was snorkeling and exploring reefs oregon hiking on land, uncovering caves," she said. 

While the kids were a small spot tense astir the adventure, they accidental they had a large clip and recovered beingness connected a vessel overmuch more comfortable than they had initially imagined. 

"I thought erstwhile we were sleeping it would beryllium truly rocky and I would beryllium a batch much seasick," Kora Ferguson said. "But it was decidedly a batch amended than I thought."

Kora's favourite representation was feeding oversea turtles on a beach. 

"It was truthful cool," she said with a grin. 

Finn's favourite representation was interacting with immoderate octopuses in Spanish Wells. 

"I got to fto them suction my hand," helium remembered.

'Living our dream'

There were immoderate scary moments arsenic well, similar erstwhile the household deed a tempest 1 evening.

"It was ace rough," Rob said, the kids nodding successful agreement. 

They were however able to find a harmless harbour wherever they recovered. 

Aside from the quality of the Bahamas, the connections made with different radical were the item for the family. 

"We've ne'er met specified nice, astonishing people, and ne'er had truthful galore connections that we'll person for a beingness down there," helium said.

A afloat ellipse infinitesimal for Rob was moving into and spending clip with the celebrated sailing vloggers whose adventures he'd been pursuing from home. He said they would anchor close adjacent to their boat. 

"This is brainsick that we're present surviving our imagination with the radical we've been watching, trying to unrecorded vicariously done them," Rob said. "And present we are now, hanging retired with them. And that was a truly chill experience."

They spent a full of 5 months sailing astir the Bahamas from February until June, erstwhile they made their mode home before the commencement of hurricane season. 

There was, however, 1 large alleviation for the kids astir yet returning home: it was bully for things to not ever beryllium truthful bedewed each the time.