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It began, as so many great adventures do, with a seed of an idea planted in an unexpected moment. Nearly ten years ago, Mark McKinney, a "two-sleeper kinda person," was up late watching YouTube videos of sailors cruising the world. He turned to his wife, Carli, and asked if she'd ever consider such a life. With twins as babies and a toddler in tow, Carli's reaction was swift and clear: "If you think you married someone who would want to do that, you are mistaken."
Fast-forward to 2020. The world was at a standstill, and the McKinney family—three kids on Zoom, two parents with demanding tech jobs—was feeling the confines of their San Francisco home. One evening, Mark put on a video for the kids, this one featuring a family sailing the world. Their six-year-old twin went to bed in tears, crying for 45 minutes, "I want a boat!" The next morning, as the sun streamed into their bedroom, Carli turned to Mark with a new conviction. "Let's do this sailing thing," she said. He couldn't believe his ears.
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This moment of clarity launched an immediate plan of action. "Mark started calling all the sailing schools in the area," Carli recounts, searching for a place that was open and could get them on the water despite the lockdown. Modern Sailing was one of the first to respond. "We were in the first ASA 101 and 103 classes," Carli recalls, remembering their small group with instructor Stephen Spoja and Modern Sailing's owner, Leigh Hunt, who was auditing the class to become an instructor. They had found their starting point.
A Strong Foundation on the Bay
Carli admits she was initially hesitant, concerned about her long-standing notion of getting seasick. The plan was to use the ASA courses to test the waters, both literally and figuratively. "Turns out I was fine," she says with a laugh. "I'm still the only one who hasn't booted on the boat."
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Modern Sailing quickly became more than just a school. "It felt like a little family," Carli says. Their time on the water built not just skills, but confidence, particularly with instructors like Capt. Jeff Cathers, now the Head of School Operations. Jeff was such a calm instructor and made learning fun, even during a memorable "docking fiasco" that resulted in a cleat being torn from the dock. It was Jeff who offered a key piece of advice during ASA 114 Catamaran Cruising Course: "Have you even been out the 'Gate? You might want to try that before you buy a boat."
Carli and Mark took the suggestion to heart, eventually conquering the challenging waters outside the Golden Gate Bridge on Modern Sailing's ASA 105/106 California Coastal Combination course with both Advanced Cruising and Coastal Navigation in one week—before their boat purchase was finalized. That training proved invaluable. "We always tell anyone who will listen that the SF Bay is one of the best training grounds for sailing," Carli emphasizes. The Bay's strong currents, busy traffic, and powerful gusts of wind, often exceeding 35 knots, prepared them for almost anything.
Jeff’s voice still echoes in her head today: "If you think it's time to reef, it's time to reef." This simple mantra became a cornerstone of their decision-making at sea, eliminating debate and ensuring the safety of their family.
Finding the Right Boat
The McKinneys' quest for a boat was as intentional as their sailing education. They knew they needed a catamaran large enough to comfortably accommodate their growing family—their twins were seven years old and their oldest, nine, when they moved aboard. "I had seen too many families start on a monohull and then move to a catamaran," Carli notes. "I told Mark I wasn’t moving boats."
[PHOTOS of Arkouda, boat shopping? first time aboard? interior/exterior/haul out photos?]
After a long search, they found Arkouda, a 2007 Privilege 495 catamaran, in Ensenada, Mexico. She was their "first and only boat," a significant leap that they don’t regret. Her previous owners, Sean and Cynthia, had already completed an 11-year circumnavigation and left the boat fully stocked with spare parts, tools, and crucial upgrades like lithium batteries, a Watt and Sea hydrogenerator, and a wind generator. "It was a godsend for us newbies," Carli says.
Arkouda's design also sold them on the purchase. They had considered performance cats like the Switch 50 and Cantanas but found the helms on the Catanas to be too exposed. Arkouda's helm, tucked safely in the forward part of the cockpit, felt much more secure for long passages.
[PHOTOS sailing Arkouda
After purchasing the boat in May 2021 and moving aboard full-time that August, they decided their first major passage would be the Baja Ha-Ha. Modern Sailing instructors Jeff Cathers and Rolf Jaeger joined them for the rally in November. This trip was an excellent introduction, connecting them with many of the friends they would eventually cross the Pacific with. However, they soon decided against future rallies. The close proximity of so many boats with varying levels of experience felt risky. Instead, following Jeff’s recommendation, they often sailed 100 nautical miles offshore to catch better wind and avoid the crowds.
[PHOTOS of Baja Ha-ha?]
This measured approach paid off. They spent their first 18 months in Mexico, gradually easing into the cruising lifestyle. Carli worked remotely through the end of 2021, and they settled into life in the Banderas Bay area, exploring up to Cachala and down to Tenecatita before heading up the Gulf of California. "Mexico is actually a great cruising ground," Carli says, praising its rich sea life, affordability, and friendly community. She and Mark used this time to get to know Arkouda and build their confidence, learning to fix the inevitable boat systems issues that arose.
After a year and a half of cruising Mexico, they set off across the Pacific in March 2023, beginning an epic journey that has now covered over 25,000 nautical miles.
The Cruising Life: Challenges, Family, and Community
Their voyage has taken them to French Polynesia, Fiji, New Zealand, Vanuatu, and Indonesia. Along the way, they've faced squalls, broken systems, and the constant demands of homeschooling three boys. As Carli puts it, the cruising life is a mix of highs and lows. The most challenging aspect for her has been homeschooling, which she admits she "can't stand" and would "rather clean the boat" than do. The endless maintenance of boat systems—from Yanmar motors and a genset to the water maker—has also been a steep learning curve.
[PHOTOS - boat fixes/chores/dirty jobs/IRL)
Yet, these challenges have been met with a growing sense of resilience and a close-knit family dynamic. "We’ve learned to be more flexible with school," Carli says, prioritizing "field trips" and now "surfing over school." Their kids, she notes, have responded well to the lifestyle, though the hardest part for them is saying goodbye to new friends.
[PHOTOS with cruising friends]
The greatest blessing, however, has been the community. The cruising world fosters a profound sense of connection. "You go deep fast," Carli explains. "Everyone is so friendly, and it's not unusual to go say hello to a boat just because they are in their cockpit." They were fortunate to meet a large group of "kid boats" in Mexico and stuck with many of them for 3.5 years, creating a global network of friends. Carli recounts a story of friends who returned to a land-based life, only to find their attempts to introduce themselves to new neighbors were met with closed doors, a stark contrast to the open and welcoming nature of the cruising community.
The Next Adventure
Now, as their voyage draws to a close, they are preparing to sell Arkouda in Phuket, Thailand. Their boys, now older, are "yearning for consistency with friends (and braces!)." They'll trade life at sea for a new land-based adventure in Spain, a seven-year commitment until the kids finish high school.
The McKinneys’ journey is a powerful testament to the fact that a lifelong love of sailing can begin with a single class. For a couple who started with a dream and a well-founded fear of seasickness, their path from the San Francisco Bay to a full circumnavigation is proof that with the right instruction and a bit of courage, anything is possible.
[PHOTOS - Thailand? Spain?]
