Billybob

Kim Saunders

Hi, my name is Kim and I am one of two crew members aboard our sailing vessel (S.V.) Amanzi. I am very excited about our expedition – the places we’ll go and the people we’ll meet. But I also know it will be challenging.

Learnt to sail in Australia
I have not been a sailor my entire life. Growing up in Newfoundland, a province on the east coast of Canada, I did not sail at all. In fact, I have only been learning to sail for the past 5 years. I started sailing when we were living in Australia in 1998. David and I returned to Canada and we bought our first sailboat, Meggie. Amanzi is our second sailboat and it has been very exciting to learn on this boat.

Growing up in Newfoundland
Most of the boats I saw growing up were small boats with engines on the back or fishing boats big enough for 4 or 5 people. Glovertown, the town near where I lived, was a famous ship – building community. In the 1900’s large fishing schooners (like the Bluenose on the 10 cent coin) were built in the community. These fishing vessels sailed to the east coast of Labrador following the whales to fish cod. But that was long ago and fishing has changed since then.

Although I did not sail, I always loved the ocean. The ocean to me meant the sound of the waves and the smell of the salt in the air. Something you never forget. So, I know our adventure to the Caribbean will bring back strong memories of growing up in Newfoundland.

Camping to career path
When I was growing up, I always knew I wanted to work outdoors. I enjoyed camping, exploring and being a Girl Guide influenced what I wanted to do as a career. So, after high school, I choose to be a Wildlife Biologist.

I worked outdoors and when you work with animals, you just never know what might happen. As part of several jobs in remote places in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and northern Ontario, I lived in a tent in the woods. Using a pointer dog, I tracked birds. I also studied mammals such as deer, bear and moose and in Nova Scotia I worked with Scientists studying Atlantic salmon. I was often invited to visit schools and speak to students about my work. From that experience, I knew I wanted to teach. So, I changed my career and became a teacher.

From wild life biologist to teacher
First, I worked at the New Brunswick Museum. I was the Science Education Co-ordinator and I invited school groups to visit the museum and learn about science. Then, I moved to Toronto and began my career as a teacher.

For the last 15 years, I have taught in a variety of settings - downtown inner city schools, a detention centre, in Special classes throughout Toronto and on Toronto Island at the Island Public/Natural Science School. The residential program for visiting Grade 5 and 6 students at the Natural Science School has been a highlight for me because it brought back my wildlife biologist experience. Now I teach Kindergarten in the day school and it is magical. With the Kindergarten children, we have visited a coyote den, fed chickadees from our hands, raised and released monarch butterflies that fly to Mexico, taken care of tadpoles and raised bunnies in the class.

This next adventure is amazing.

David Hartman

David Hartman is a New Media producer specilizing in interative story telling. He designs websites that enable people to tell their stories. Here is his.

Extra-Curricular activity In South Africa, where I grew up, many children attend boarding school as part of their regular schooling. This means you are away from your family during the week or throughout an entire term. (Boarding schools are also very common in the UK and Australia). At St. Andrews school, sailing was an extra-curricular activity that I took part in each week. It was terrific. I was 13 years old and learned to sail in small boats called dinghies. Once a week, the class would take their little sailboats out into the surf and learn to manoeuver in the waves while crashing into the rollers. I learned how to handle that dinghy in good strong winds and waves.

Always on the water The sailing bug stayed with me, until the end of High School. I continued taking lessons and sailed on bigger boats up to 53 feet long. I enrolled in the Sailing Academy where I earned my levels. I was headed for competitions at the national level because I found the Ocean sailing exciting. At that point, after finishing high school, I decided to take a part time job at the sailing school.

Career Paths The path to Professional Sailor seemed to stop after working at the Sailing Academy. However, I didn't stop sailing for fun. When I was trying to decide what to take at University, my interests were Maths and Computer Science. Unfortunately, there were no programs in South Africa that supported those two courses. Now-a-days, it's computer animation and programming. So, I enrolled in my other interest - the Arts. I completed my degree in photography and a year later, I headed off on my bicycle around southern Africa for a year.

From Cyclist to Photojournalist My bicycle trip around southern Africa opened my eyes, to the richness of cultures surrounding my country, through the lens of a camera. But I also witnessed the difficulties people had. It was an incredible year. When I returned, I wanted to continue with something as meaningful. I decided to use my camera to document the injustice of aparthied. So I worked as a photojournalist for the international news agency Agence France Presse and Afrapix, a photographic collective, working for change under apartheid. In 1987, my world changed and I emigrated to Canada where I continued to work as a photojournalist, specialising in social documentary themes.

Full circle In 1999, after working as a photojournalist for 20 + years, I was open to making a change in my career. I continued to be interested in story-telling, but this time, I wanted to use the web as a medium for my message. I did not put away my camera, in fact I use it all the time. However, I use it together with other tools.

This Voyage project combines my passion for sailing and telling people's stories together with Kim's interest to explore environmental education and connect with teachers and children. I've been sailing for more than 30 years, including sailing from Athens, Greece to Antiqua, in the Caribbean in 1998. In 1999,when Kim and I lived in Australia I returned to sailing on the Ocean. We've been 5 years planning this next dream. It is hard to believe it is finally happening. And we are returning to the Ocean, a love for both of us. If there is one thing I've learned - follow your dreams. They can happen.