Coming Home

The time has come for me to leave J. Henry and return to Charleston to carry out our mission from home. Tripp will remain with the boat and continue to carry out our mission abroad. The past year has been challenging for us, as it has for nearly every person in the world. We count ourselves lucky as many have had it much worse in these trying times.

The closure of borders around the world has made our goal of a circumnavigation in two years quite near impossible. At this point we should be in Cape Town, South Africa getting ready to head north to St. Helena. With the boat confined in French Polynesia and the options for moving forward extremely limited, it became clear that Hawaii was our best and brightest option. The 3 month pause in Hawaii that is necessitated by weather windows is the perfect place to refit and retune the boat, things that were supposed to be done in Australia. With the new timeline of a March 2021 departure from Hawaii in mind, I have made the decision to return to Charleston. Per the original plan I was set to return home in April 2021 from Spain while Tripp set forth into the Mediterranean. I am leaving now to allow new crew to get acquainted with the boat before an early spring crossing.

The reason for my early departure remains the same now as it did then. My heart is at home. The love of my life is there waiting and the travel restrictions abroad make seeing her impossible. The city and community I love is there and there is work to be done. My family is there, I’ve missed two of my sibling’s weddings and the first steps of my niece.

Our original route has been intrinsically altered by the Coronavirus and my departure is an extension of that. Our mission, however, remains the same and this move will help us pursue those goals more effectively.

I feel grateful to have Tripp’s support in my decision. I am so excited that he will be able to continue to sail and meet with the people who are fighting for our climate in their communities. I will bring what I’ve learned home and work with Grey, our director, to vigorously pursue our goal of establishing a Mission Blue Hope Spot on the coast of South Carolina.

-Zach