 |
|
|
 
Amy Mead built a successful career in advertising and graphic
design before starting a family in 2007. The Chicago native earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Connecticut College, then landed her first job at a small agency outside the Windy City. Over the next
12 years, Amy worked her way up to Senior Art Director for a large Chicago firm. She was living in the suburbs on a tranquil 20 acres overlooking two lakes when the long daily commutes and bitterly-cold winters began to take their toll. “My boyfriend and I began
dreaming about a radical change in our lives – the possibility of owning and living on a sailboat,” she says. “In spite of demanding jobs and limited time, we spent the next six months imagining and talking about what it would be like to follow this dream.”
In 2001, they boldly quit their jobs, put everything in storage, and moved to Vero Beach, Florida. Within a week, the two had bought a 27-foot sailboat, despite knowing nothing about boats or sailing, and moved aboard. They spent the next six months making it seaworthy and learning how to live without refrigeration. The couple then set sail for a three-month cruise in the Bahamas, requiring them to cross the turbulent Gulf Stream in the middle of the night. The year-long adventure would change their lives as they weathered numerous storms and learned how to survive at sea.
“There are so many memories wrapped up in that boat, there was no way we could sell it. We still have it today,” she says.
|
|
|
|
