It was during a busy Friday morning on the second day of the Newport International Boat Show that the mazu team bumped into Jess Zevalkink, creator of the website katieandjessieonaboat.com and a lover of sailing.
For those of you who have never heard of Jess, we highly recommend checking out her website and reading more about her incredible journey. In 2012, Jess and her friend Katie Smith left Michigan behind aboard their Ca 27, Louise, and didn’t look back. Completing America’s Great Loop over the course of 2 years, Jess and Katie explored both the inland waterways of America and later cruised throughout the Caribbean. But the adventure didn’t stop there.
Courtesy of https://katieandjessieonaboat.com
In 2017, Jess and her partner Luke completed their journey across the North Atlantic, passing from Michigan to England aboard Jess’ fathers 1962 Pearson Invicta. Before Jess and Luke departed, we got in touch and supplied them with a mSeries unit and got mazu running on board.
We wanted to see how Jess had enjoyed her Atlantic voyage, as well as using mazu during the trip. We reached out with several questions which Jess was kind enough to answer. If you want to learn more about Jess’ incredible years of sailing and how to get started with cruising, read on!
Question 1: When did you first get the idea to sail the Atlantic?
Answer: Luke proposed within the same year that we met. We knew we needed to make sure we could sail together. I am a casual cruiser. He is an accomplished racer. Sailing was written all over both of our futures. So we decided to expedite the “getting to know each others worst selves” process by choosing something fairly extreme. “Let’s sail from my house to your house” I suggested. “Michigan to England”. After permission to sail my fathers boat to England, the decision was made.
Question 2: What’s next? There was America’s Great Loop, the Atlantic Loop, island hopping. Any other voyages on the horizon?
Answer: Oh gosh. We would likely give you different answers. Luke would love to sail around the world non-stop via all the capes. I’m not that extreme. I would love to sail around the world and stop everywhere, see everything, meet everyone. Like many other dreamers, we are trying to work out a way to do a global lap on a very small budget. However, I did promise my father I would return his boat, and I would like to see him sail it again so I will keep that promise and sail it home within a reasonable amount of time.
Question 3: Where was your favorite location? Was there a town or sailing area that stood out to you?
Answer: Newfoundland ! Rugged coast line. Puffins. Whales. Gannets. Dolphins. Fog. Ice bergs. Arctic blue shores. The kindest people we have ever met in our lives. It was incredible. We will be going back.
Courtesy of https://katieandjessieonaboat.com
Question 4: What’s your one tip for someone looking to start cruising? Do you just take a leap of faith and go?
Answer: Leaving is the hardest part, the most terrifying part. Making the decision to go, and to leave everything you knew comfortable and safe, is hands down the worst part. Once you go, you will be perfectly fine, I promise. Trust yourself, your ability to make the right choices, it’s worth the blood sweat and tears and is one of the most rewarding processes. I believe anyone has the ability to do this, you just have to want it bad enough.
Question 5: We’ve been thrilled to have you use mazu during your voyage. If you had to pick a feature or aspect of mazu that you like the most, what would it be?
Answer: We were also thrilled to use mazu, it was great to have a heads up of what was coming our way, giving us plenty of time to prepare mentally and physically. Having wind, swells, temps, pressure, sky condition, in four hour increments allowed us to alter our course accordingly and often ahead of time. mazu was very user friendly and easy to navigate. Personally, being able to email my family every day was a huge benefit. I allowed them to sleep at night, and allowed me to feel connected when in reality you are very alone. The system all together eliminated the need to have a different device for everything. Weather, SOS, email, text, and even navigation if you want. We will be using it for our next trip.
Jess using the mazu iPad app!
It isn’t every day you come across a story quite like Jess’. To read about her evolving sailing adventures has always been a pleasure, and we definitely suggest taking a look at the start of the journey and to read her website https://katieandjessieonaboat.com from the beginning. You won’t regret it, especially if you are currently making the transition between sailing and cruising and could use some inspiration to venture offshore.
Team mazu was also very excited to hear about the positive user experience with our mazu iPad app and mSeries system, and are glad to know that Jess will be using mazu for her next incredible adventure. Our mission has always been to keep cruisers connected wherever their travels take them, and we will continue to redefine what you can expect from your offshore sailing experience.
We will be attending the United States Sailboat Show in Annapolis from October 5th-9th, so stop by our booth YB19 and YB20 to check out our system and meet team mazu!
