A Gift from Mother Nature

One of the great things about an outdoorsy lifestyle like cruising on a sailboat is that Mother Nature occasionally rewards you with dramatic visual ‘gifts’ such as this spectacular sunset. The image, shot at Hawaii’s Ko Olina Marina, was shared with us by 2011 Pacific Puddle Jumpers Doug and Carla Scott. "We were strolling along Lagoon #4 — after our Mai Tai walk — and just couldn’t resist watching the sunset. No green flash, but amazing just as it was."

The last time we saw the Scotts was in Tahiti, not long after they’d completed their crossing to the islands via the Galapagos aboard their Tayana 42 Moondance.

As we recall, they were both smiling ear-to-ear, as if they couldn’t quite believe they were living such a magical lifestyle. Based in Albuquerque, NM, they first got the idea to go cruising during a Caribbean charter vacation. "We were sitting in some little bar," recalls Doug, "when we met some cruisers living on their boat. We said to ourselves, ‘This could be us!’" It took them 15 years of planning and preparation, but they eventually set sail on their trip of a lifetime in 2011. Goes to show, great ideas can come to you if you just slow down enough to let them take root.