Who? What? Really?
Summer 2022
Winter 2025
Spring 2024
In June 2022, a family of four decides to sell their house and move onto a boat to sail around the world. Except that when it’s time to leave their home in Annapolis, Maryland, they haven’t found the right boat! So we AirBnB’d our way through Portugal, Italy, France, Kenya and Turkey.
We finally found our boat late 2022 and by March 2023, we started sailing. We’ve done nearly 10,000 nautical miles.
Big EmOceans because, well, we do Big Emotions really well in our family and there’s no better place to ride the waves than on the water. It’s not all fun adventures and beautiful scenery but it’s never boring. Join us on our explorations here.
(Captain) Jess
May 2025
When not loaning out her frontal lobe to keep everyone organized, on task, and headed in the same direction, she’s busy finding all the baby animals in all the places we go and making sure to love them, even if the sign says not to.
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Onboard chef, the one who docks the boat, homeschool principal and website author. I have my 100-ton Masters license so the Captain title may be official but I still prefer the galley.
Captain Russ
Russ confidently captains Big Em through all seas, dealing with the parts, technicians, maintenance schedule and weather predictions. When the rest of us are seasick, he stands a double night watch. He is the master of the laundry, can fix a broken toilet, and knows more about the inner workings of this boat than he ever thought possible.
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Meet the new Russ - former work-a-holic turned meditation/mindfulness enthusiast. Most patient father and home school teacher. Confident and capable sailor. No matter how cold the water, he is always up for a swim.
Jordan
May 2, 2025
Now almost 6’ tall, Jordan is 14 years old and the most adventurous of us all. He eagerly swims with sharks, enjoys spearfishing, makes his own bows and arrows, climbs trees for coconuts and extracts the water for us, drives the dinghy (fast!), and never tires of exploring in woods or on beaches. The freedom of this lifestyle suits him.
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Exceptional in every way. 12 years old and the King of Big Emotions. THRILL seeker, pure muscle, afraid of nothing. He has enough energy to power the race car he wishes he could drive.
In his own words: “I love to build things and I’m strong and wild.”
Rosie
Her beauty is just the beginning. This girl is smart, tough and has a sharp wit. She’s a natural performer and can make friends anywhere. She won’t be the first to dive in but she can swim faster, dance better and make us laugh harder than anyone we know.
In her own words: “I like to cook and me and my Barbies love to explore.”
Kyle joined the boat in Colombia and since leaving the dock, has proven his abilities to catch delicious fish. When he’s not fixing, cleaning, playing D&D with Jordan, or spending time in the water, he walks miles and miles on land in his free time.
We are grateful he puts up with us - and always with a smile!