One of the greatest experiences that we’ve had in cruising is meeting all types of people who are doing this from different backgrounds, for different reasons, on different budgets, and for different lengths of time. The cruising community in Mexico is so much bigger than I thought it would be. Garrett and I have met so many incredible people.

I am always impressed by cruising families and think that this lifestyle is such a cool thing for kids to experience. That’s why I’m so excited to introduce you to the first family featured on my Meet the Cruisers series: Tara, Patrick, Everest, and Salty the pug!

We briefly met Tara and Patrick at Marina El Cid in Mazatlan and feel like we’ve been following them around ever since. It’s as if whatever anchorage we pull into, they’re already there. Their 68’ aluminum hull sailboat is hard to miss. And travels a lot faster than our 35’ Thisldu. Meaning they were usually moving on from an anchorage as we were just getting in. We finally caught up with them in Tenacatita, spending time together there and in Barra de Navidad.

The Franz family is just so…cool. And friendly! They give off such kind and positive vibes. Tara and I spent an evening chatting at a beach bonfire in Tenacatita, and she was just so easy to talk to. I’ve grown to really appreciate the female connections that I make out here more and more. Her husband, Patrick, gives off the greatest energy, and their son Everest is an all around great kid. And he’s killer at guitar. Keep him on your radar, he might be a rockstar one day! And then there’s Salty the pug. How can I not mention Salty the pug? He’s adorable, and I’m obsessed with that name.

What are your names?

Tara, Patrick and Everest Franz

If you don’t mind sharing, how old are you?

Patrick is 46, Tara is 42, and our son Everest is 12, turning 13 in June!

What is the name, make, model, year, and size of your boat?

Pandion is a custom-built 68’ 1972 aluminum hull cutter rig made by Derecktor Yards, NY

How did you get your start with sailing?

We all learned to sail at the same time while we were living in Santa Cruz, California. Tara and Patrick mostly grew up in landlocked Alberta, Canada so access to sailing was minimal. While living in Squamish, BC, we looked into sailing lessons but they weren’t very accessible. Life moved us to Santa Cruz and it was a great place to learn sailing. We took our first ASA course and saw that this could be a thing for us. Everest took a kids sailing camp a couple of summers in a row.

After getting through the ASA courses we bought a 30-foot Santana sloop rig sailboat, Electra. We sailed Electra from Berkeley to Moss Landing, going across the Bay and under the Golden Gate Bridge when we had very few hours under our belts. We were pretty fearless, but we also played it smart. We had a great sail and sailed the Monterey Bay waters 2 to 3 weekends a month for 2 years before we bought Pandion and moved onto the boat.

Before leaving to cruise south we completed a number of US Sailing courses through Club Nautique in Alameda, CA. The classes gave us a great chance to clock more hours on the water and learn really valuable skills that made us more confident and capable.

Tara: Some of the instructors really changed how I thought about sailing and the approach I take now. I had one teacher in particular who focused on keeping a calm boat atmosphere and keeping everyone smiling as boat rule #1. I try to think about that all the time even now. Sometimes it even works. ;)

What made you want to cruise?

Tara: For a long time I wanted to do something that would allow me to slow down and think, experience life, my family and the world. Work felt fast and intense when we moved from Squamish, BC to the Bay Area. Cruising just felt like the answer to a question I had, which was “what should I do when I grow up?”

Essentially I wanted my working life to fund a cool, adventurous lifestyle that shows you why we’re here on this earth, instead of just funding stuff. We didn’t want to wait for retirement to do it either. We just thought we could cruise for as long as possible, whatever that looks like and return to it later if we take a break on land.

Patrick: Growing up I didn’t really know that people did this! A friend I met later in life introduced me to the idea and showed me a few videos from some sailing YouTube channels. I was instantly intrigued. We moved to Squamish to explore the mountains and spent our time rock climbing and backcountry skiing. Sailing looked like it would give us a good adventure, while being able to fish, dive and do it all on for next to free (so I thought).

Everest: I wanted to swim in warm water and see remote towns and islands. I was excited to see remote places.

How long have you been cruising for, and how long do you hope to keep it up?

We all started cruising together in October 2019. Our initial intention was to cruise until we go back to land for Everest to go to High School, but that’s just this trip and that still gives us 2.5 years to go! Things may change. This lifestyle seems to lend itself more to plans changing then staying the same.

Tara: My hope is that even when this cruise is done we may find ourselves cruising seasonally, or for longer periods while working in other parts of the world. We may crew on other boats for a chance at more locations! I really loved a week we spent on a chartered boat cruising the Cyclades in Greece - I don’t know that we would take Pandion there, but I would meet other cool peeps to cruise there again!

Patrick: We definitely want to keep it going for at least 1 year, maybe more. If we can leave the boat in the off season to make some money and then come back and continue cruising around the world, that would be a good compromise.

Everest: I definitely want to keep going for the year around Mexico. Next year we are thinking of going to the Marquesas, which i think would be really cool, however, a 30 day crossing would be hard, but I still think it would be worth it. I think exploring different places would be cool, but I definitely want to be back for high school so I have a better chance of getting into a college or university.

How are you funding this lifestyle?

We spent 5 years in the Bay area where we purchased the boat, moved onto the boat and tried to live a moderate lifestyle so we could pay off the boat and save up enough money to take time off. We are not currently working but we plan to start looking for contracts we can complete remotely or within some sailing breaks so that we can cruise for a few more years. Patrick is a web developer and software engineer, Tara does UX and qualitative research. Everest is a budding musician and has been known to get a few tips to pay for his own tacos. ;)

What’s the most positive experience you’ve had with cruising so far? What’s the most negative experience you’ve had with cruising so far? The biggest challenge?

Patrick: The most positive experience has been all of the fellow cruisers we’ve met. This group of people are super positive and have a great energy. There’s a definite camaraderie and everyone is always ready to lend a hand or give advice.

The worst part of cruising so far has been trying to find parts that would normally be no problem getting in the US. I bought every spare part and replacement part I would need, unfortunately, those are the only things that didn’t break.

Tara: Best part? There are so many good parts!! The social aspect is amazing, I had no idea that the cruising community was so social and welcoming. I would say the sea life and experiencing time on the water has been the best. We have dolphins, whales and rays to enjoy a lot of the time. I think the boat makes you spend more time outside, in the sunsets, sunrises, night time or whenever. I would not have described myself as “outdoorsy” and now I have a real appreciation for the energy I get just from being outside often. Lots of time together as a family is the most treasured part. I love seeing Patrick totally in his element as the Captain. He’s amazing with the boat, and with catching fish, spearing fish and generally finding fun things for us in town. I have been able to do more teaching with Everest for home school and I LOVE that. We also get to watch him perform as a musician in towns and that has been a really surprising and incredible addition to exploring Mexico and the music scene! I definitely feel I know my family better and we are closer.

The worst part has been adapting to weather and water conditions. We’ve experienced a storm and some pretty big swells at different times. You learn to trust the boat and understand the limits of what it can handle. It can be scary, but you get stronger as a sailor with each big day. I have become really cognizant of all our resources too like water and power. This is both good and bad, because being a conscious consumer is a great habit I think, but I would love to just run a hot shower and stand under it for like 2 minutes!!!

Everest: I think the best part of cruising so far has been exploring. When you visit a cool town in a resort or hotel, it’s a lot different than actually getting to experience the place in its entirety. The most negative experience for me has been leaving places where I found great places to play (I play guitar), or really nice people (on boats or locals) that we got used to and had to leave. The biggest challenge has been working the boat. I am not super capable when it comes to the boat, so learning about the boat and how to sail has been difficult.

Is cruising what you thought it would be? Can you elaborate?

Tara: Nope. I had no idea how enjoyable a night sail could be, or how stressful it can be too! I had no idea how I would really have very little to do and still feel super busy. I didn’t realize that I could let myself let go so much to just kind of sit and stare out at the water. I thought I would DO a lot more and I have been just letting go a lot. I’m not sure when I might DO a lot again, or if I will, or what I might do but I know that most of this is not what I expected. The travel in each town is so fun, the sailing itself is really enjoyable. I don’t even really like being at a marina anymore, I prefer to just be out at anchor, in the breeze and water. However It can be a challenge to get the dog to shore, and then really satisfying when you accomplish that each day. Haha! Small things have big rewards. It’s all really better than I expected and in different ways.

Patrick: Pretty much, though I thought I’d be dealing with more breakages (knocks on wood). My crew (family) have been outstanding and being able to rely on them as much as I do, has made it so much more enjoyable for me.

Everest: I thought cruising would be only small towns where no one spoke english. It turned out there were a lot of places with full stores and resorts and everything. I also thought the water would always be like 50 foot visibility with a light blue color. Sadly the water has not been consistently clear.

Is there one piece of advice or insight into this lifestyle that you would like to share?

Patrick: Be flexible! Flexible with everything, especially your schedule. I like to think of our plans as ideas. We’re aiming to get to a certain place but we avoid setting a strict date. If we need to have a firm date, I make sure we have a lot of buffer in our timing. Sometimes you get stuck in an area for longer than anticipated, sometimes you blast through a place when you expected to spend some time. Sometimes we had to wait for repairs to be done, sometimes we stayed because we really liked the place and of course the weather is king. We’ve also ended up places we didn’t expect to after talking to other cruisers, and those have been some of our favorites.

Tara: What Patrick said. Take time to chat with others and hear their experiences. Early on we changed our “plans” a lot based on what other cruisers were able to tell us. We learned to make intentions instead of plans and now I reach out to people as much as possible while thinking about what we do next. Just listen to the community and accept the stories from others as input, don’t be too proud on the water. :) Oh, and manage your water closely. ;)