{"id":108,"date":"2013-12-01T19:19:50","date_gmt":"2013-12-01T19:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sailritemoc.wordpress.com\/?p=108"},"modified":"2023-02-03T14:16:46","modified_gmt":"2023-02-03T19:16:46","slug":"kelly-girl-waterhouse-discovering-her-dream","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.sailrite.com\/meet-our-customers\/marine\/kelly-girl-waterhouse-discovering-her-dream\/","title":{"rendered":"Kelly Girl Waterhouse: Discovering Her Dream"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Kelly-Girl-Collage\"
Clockwise from top left:<\/strong> Kelly and Kelly Girl Waterhouse; Moorea anchored in Hiva Oa, Marquesas; Kelly Sailing in the Marquesas; Kelly Girl and friend, Lisa from s\/v Ohana Kai, making flags with the Ultrafeed LSZ.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As a girl growing up in Minnesota, Kelly \u201cKelly Girl\u201d Waterhouse never dreamed of sailing around the world. In fact, she didn\u2019t even know how to sail. But if you ask her today about the four years she spent circumnavigating the globe with her husband, she\u2019ll gush about her boat, her travels, and the freedom of sailing on the open ocean.<\/p>\n

Kelly Girl\u2019s sailing story starts years ago when the restaurant she managed in Minnesota sent her to open a new location in Seattle, Washington. It was there that she met Kelly Waterhouse, one of her lunch regulars. The pair hit it off and eventually got married. Since theyhave the same first name, she became known as \u201cKelly Girl\u201d to avoid confusion.<\/p>\n

Kelly was an experienced sailor and had grown up around boats. However, sailing didn\u2019t play a big part in their relationship until after they were married, and it wasn\u2019t until after the couple bought a little Catalina 22 that Kelly taught Kelly Girl how to sail on the Puget Sound.<\/p>\n

Ever since Kelly was a little boy he had dreamed of one day setting out to travel the world, but he never thought he could do it with a wife, Kelly Girl said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe introduced me to sailing and to the idea of sailing the globe and I was like \u2018Really? We could?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

And so the pair began planning for their sailing adventure, thinking at first that it would be a long way off.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had talked about retiring young, like at 50, and then going,\u201d Kelly Girl explained. \u201cBut we\u2019re very mortal. There\u2019s no guarantee that we would be there tomorrow. You just know you don\u2019t necessarily have all the life you think, let\u2019s do it now.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite many friends and family members thinking they were crazy, Kelly and Kelly Girl set out in search of the perfect boat to sail around the world in.<\/p>\n

Eventually they found\u00a0Moorea<\/i>, a 35 ft. Dufour Sloop built in 1974.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was beautiful. She had a thick hull\u2014sturdy and heavy. She was great for two people, and she had all the things we needed,\u201d Kelly Girl explained.<\/p>\n

The couple lived aboard for two years in Seattle while they readied her for the sea and saved up for their big adventure.<\/p>\n

In 2006, at 35 years old, Kelly and Kelly Girl finally set sail, heading down the west coast of the United States to Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had the worst weather on the west coast going from Washington to California,\u201d Kelly Girl said. \u201cIt was our first time sailing offshore and night sailing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair had hit a squall and their boat was creaking loudly in the waves.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really don\u2019t know your boat until those situations,\u201d she said. \u201cOnce I realized that she was a solid boat, I really wasn\u2019t ever nervous again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Waterhouse\u2019s circumnavigation took them 4 years and 35,000 nautical miles to complete. They stopped in 30 countries spending anywhere from a week to six months in any given location.<\/p>\n

After all the traveling was done there were two aspects of the journey that stood out to Kelly Girl.<\/p>\n

\u201c[My favorite was] visiting countries that are so different from your own, like Thailand\u2014the people there were so kind and welcoming. Just visiting new cultures, learning to say hello and thank you,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat, and getting to a place by your own means\u2014by the wind\u2014the freedom of it is addicting. You feel like you\u2019re the only ones on the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Like most sailors the Waterhouses frequently rely on their DIY skills. Kelly often hires himself out to other cruisers to fix problems on their boats for extra cash. And throughout their travels, they always have their Ultrafeed LSZ Sewing Machine on board.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love our machine. It\u2019s always been very reliable. Other cruisers know we have it and always want to borrow it!\u201d Kelly Girl said. \u201cWe\u2019ve fixed our sails\u2014and I mean our heavy-duty sails, not just the light ones. It\u2019s saved us a lot of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

On one fateful passage, the Ultrafeed even saved the day. While cruising through the Gulf of Aden, the couple had to make an emergency spinnaker repair.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were trying to keep upwith our boating flotilla through pirate alley and pushed the spinnaker too hard,\u201d Kelly Girl said.<\/p>\n

They immediately pulled their spinnaker down and set to work on repairs. Kelly Girl was thankful that they were able to do the fix themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn situations like that, there isn\u2019t a professional near you,\u201d she said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be an expert.\u201d<\/p>\n

While admitting that she is not the most talented sewer (Kelly is the go-to sewer on board), Kelly Girl feels a sense of pride from the things she\u2019s DIY-ed. Together they\u2019ve made a wide range of projects for their boat including: dinghy chaps, a binnacle cover, a shade system, jerry can covers, and courtesy flags.<\/p>\n

Today Kelly and Kelly Girl are living in Phoenix, Arizona. They have a new 42 ft. project boat,\u00a0Trini<\/i>. She currently resides in Houston, Texas, where Kelly travels to work on her sporadically. The couple hopes to be living aboard again by this time next year with plans to return to coastal cruising soon after.<\/p>\n

Kelly Girl urges other sailors dreaming of sailing full-time to follow their dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just warn people if they do it, they might not want to come back,\u201d she said. \u201cIf it\u2019s the lifestyle for you\u2014and it isn\u2019t for everyone\u2014but if it\u2019s the lifestyle for you, go for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kelly Girl is the author of\u00a0Sailing the Waterhouse: Swapping Turf for Surf<\/i><\/a>, a story of the couple\u2019s transition to life on the water and their first ocean passage. Her second book is due out next year.<\/p>\n

To learn more about Kelly and Kelly Girl Waterhouse and their adventures, follow their blog:\u00a0Sailing the Waterhouse One Wave at a Time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Who We Are<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Sailrite is your one-stop DIY shop! We are a passionate crew of do-it-yourselfers who strive to equip you with the supplies and how-to knowledge you need to tackle your next project. Do you want to learn upholstery, leatherwork, canvaswork, hobby sewing, bag making or more? We have the fabric, tools, hardware, sewing machines and notions you need to master any DIY. And even if you’ve never sewn before, our tutorials and how-to videos are designed for beginners and experienced crafters alike.<\/span><\/p>\n

Start your DIY journey today: www.sailrite.com<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As a girl growing up in Minnesota, Kelly \u201cKelly Girl\u201d Waterhouse never dreamed of sailing around the world. In fact, she didn\u2019t even know how to sail. But if you ask her today about the four years she spent circumnavigating the globe with her husband, she\u2019ll gush about her boat, her travels, and the freedom … Continue reading Kelly Girl Waterhouse: Discovering Her Dream<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[2],"tags":[27,22,26,28,19,20,37,70],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/padSoq-1K","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":802,"url":"https:\/\/blog.sailrite.com\/meet-our-customers\/marine\/seeking-the-blue-tales-of-a-lifelong-sailor\/","url_meta":{"origin":108,"position":0},"title":"Seeking the Blue: Tales of a Lifelong Sailor","date":"June 10, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Sailing, sand and sun have been a part of Sailrite\u00ae customer Marina Batham\u2019s life from the very beginning. 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