How a Family of 7 Lived on a Boat For an Entire Year

Although Emily agreed to take a sailing class or two, she figured Erik's dream would stop there. But after spending time on a boat, the concept of living on a vessel with her family began to grow on her.

"Sailing became a thing that brought our family together," Emily said. "And that's when I think Erik started bringing in people he saw online who were living on a boat. And by then, that's when this dream sort of expanded to encompass the whole family. It didn't just start, 'Hey, I have this idea, and everybody was on board so we did it.' It grew so we were all into it."

Fast forward a few months and a whole lot of window shopping, and the Ortons were officially embarking on a one-year adventure to the Caribbean in their very own sailboat with the kids in tow. And while purchasing a sailboat is definitely costly, the rest of the trip actually wasn't that expensive.

"You can live pretty cheaply. Less than on land. That's what we figured," Erik said. "Once you've got your boat, you're not paying rent. We sublet our house. But you don't have a lot of expenses other than groceries really once you're out there. You're going to buy some fuel to put in your boat every now and then. And, of course, there's maintenance. It's kind of like camping on the water."

As for the kids? Emily was already homeschooling their children, so the transition was easier in that regard.

"You take on all that responsibility as parents but also get a lot of autonomy, and you start to control your calendar in a different way," she said. "I really think it was that we had started homeschooling first that opened our mind to the idea of these possibilities."

The journey was particularly beneficial for their youngest daughter, who has Down syndrome.

"We could have all these opportunities for experiential learning, opportunities with other cultures in other places, and I thought this will really cement it," Emily said. "I would say particularly for all my kids, but especially for our youngest, who has Down syndrome, abstract [concepts aren't] happening. And so something super concrete like this, it just fired up her curiosity to meet new people, and she always wanted to try the new things."

But agreeing to set sail on the open sea didn't come without a few tears.

"It was definitely an adjustment," Emily explained. "I know there were tears on the first night that we moved aboard. And the sadness of imagining all those days without friends that were going to be ahead and things like that. And one thing we had for our advantage is that the seven of us already shared a two-bedroom, one-bathroom New York City apartment, which was pretty good preparation for living on a boat."

Eventually, the Ortons found their bearings and quickly began making friends and exploring.

"So many things are beyond your control [when you're on the boat], and you just have to be OK with that," Erik said. "That said, being there would turn out to be one of the best things because we met people there and made friends with people that we are close with to this day."

Although the family sailed to islands throughout the Caribbean and up the coast to Florida, their favorite destination is without a doubt Saint Martin, where they lived for three months.

"Even as we were leaving, there were parts of the island or views I hadn't seen yet and I was like, 'Ah, this is so amazing that we hadn't seen this sooner,'" Erik said. "You really fall in love with a place when you get to meet the people."

He also added that assimilating into another country's culture is a unique experience. "Maybe you weren't expecting those holidays or those type of hours [in that country]. And then you start to adapt to it, and you're like, 'Well, that's just how it is,' and it becomes endearing to you. So that's one of the reasons we love Saint Martin, just because we got to experience so much there."

As for their thoughts on other parents following their lead? They suggest taking the risk.

"Yeah, we wish we had known more mechanical stuff, but you learn as you go," Erik said. "That was really the joy of the journey, that we learned together as a family as we did it. Now we did know how to sail."

Emily added that her squad received more help from other travelers than she ever thought possible.

"You feel like you have to have it all prepared and figured out before you go," she said. "But there's lots of people willing to help you, and there will be solutions that you'll find along the way. You don't have to have all the answers before you go. It's good to do your homework, but at a certain point, you just need to go and trust that you'll be able to find the people and the things that you need."