I met CBC reporter Stu Mills last year when we were living in limbo – staying in an Ottawa campground. Our house had been rented, and our boat was undergoing a refit in Tampa, Florida. Stu drove out to our campsite with his recording equipment.

A year has passed, and a lot has happened since our camping and downsizing days in Ottawa.

I recently spoke to Stu Mills from our boat in Luperon, Dominican Republic. He recorded our call using Skype, and created a radio segment that aired on Canada Day (July 1st, 2016).  Below is the transcript from the introduction to the radio segment, as well as the audio portion.

CBC Newsreader:

A young family left Ottawa last year to sail around the world for a life at sea will spend the Hurricane season in the Dominican Republic.

Last September, Rick and Lorraine Escher and their four children gave away many of their possessions, rented out their west-end home and began a new life aboard a 50′, ocean-going catamaran.

They family says the seafaring life has had a few surprises.

Stu Mills reports…

Stu also wrote a story for the CBC website called “Everything ship-shape with seafaring Ottawans in the Caribbean“.  Being that the story appeared on the CBC website on Canada Day, it shared space with a story about Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, mixing with Canada Day celebrants.

Here are some links to related blog posts that stemmed from Stu’s visit to our campsite in July 2015:

A visit from CBC Radio’s Stu Mills
Audio clip from CBC Radio Segment
CBC Story: “Ottawa family donates belongings to sail Caribbean”