California couple just spent 8 years sailing around the globe: ‘A real eye opener’

In 2014, Margie and Larry Linder of Cayucos became empty nesters and began refining their retirement plan: circumnavigating the globe aboard the Althea, their 32-foot-long Westsail sailboat.

“It was a dream that I’d had 20-some years ago: ‘When I retire, I want to sail around the world,’ ” Larry Linder said by phone from the boat Tuesday. “I kept my eye on the prize.”

The couple, who live in Cambria now, embarked on their world-spanning adventure in April 2015, departing from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

In March 2022, more than eight years and at least 30,000 nautical miles later, they landed at the Mexican coastal fishing village of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle.

On their way to their home port of Morro Bay, “We hunkered down in Marina Del Rey to escape the fringe of Hurricane Hilary,” Margie Linder said.

The Linders then set sail for the Cojo anchorage near Point Conception and Port San Luis in Avila Beach and their home port of Morro Bay.

“We are so excited to come home,” she said.

The Linders sailed back into Morro Bay Harbor on Wednesday, welcomed home by well-wishers at Morro Rock and along the Embarcadero.

Elated family members followed the couple in a boat, while the Morro Bay Harbor Patrol provided an escort and water salute as the Linders entered the harbor.

The Althea tied up briefly at Tidelands Park so the Linders could hug family and friends before tying up at their new mooring in the bay.

“I always had the travel bug,” Larry Linder said, with a desire to “see other cultures, new people, new ways of doing things,”

“It’s been a real eye opener,” he said of his globe-spanning voyage. “It really changed my perspective, how easily you can erase any thoughts of bigotry as soon as you get out of your own little bubble and get to know the people.”

SLO County couple retire, sell home ahead of trip

In 2014, after the youngest of Margie and Larry Linder’s four children graduated from high school, the couple sold their home in Cayucos, Margie Linder told The Tribune via email.

Before retiring, Larry Linder owned and operated a small trucking business for 28 years, his wife said, in addition to owning several fishing boats. He also was a commercial fisherman and a reserve officer for the Morro Bay Harbor Patrol.

“His earliest experience on a boat was deep sea fishing with his father and younger brother,” Margie Linder said of her husband, who was 11 at the time.

Margie Linder was a rehabilitation therapist at Atascadero State Hospital for about six years, and then taught in the academic skills lab at Cuesta College.

To prepare for their life-changing journey, she said, the couple “sold our cars, most of our furniture and belongings. We worked and saved, saved, saved for this retirement adventure.”

The Linders readied their sailboat, the Althea, for the long cruise, adding equipment including Garmin satellite and single side-band radio for communicating.

According to Linder, the Althea is compact but efficient. It has a galley, navigation station, three berths, a bathroom, small dining area and various storage lockers, she wrote via email.

“There is no shower stall on Althea,” Linder said. “Bathing options while on passage were either a bucket-and-washrag bath or a deck shower with the hose.”

Fortunately, Linder said, she and her husband are suited for cramped quarters. She stands 5 feet, 3 inches tall, while Larry Linder is 5 feet, 10 inches tall.

Cayucos residents prepare for sailing voyage

The Linders also prepared themselves for their journey.

Larry Linder was “determined to learn how to sail by reading sailing handbooks, following sailing blogs and watching do-it-yourself YouTube videos,” his wife said.

Margie Linder faced an even bigger challenge, she said.

“I had zero sailing experience, in the past got seasick on boats and have never had positive experiences at sea,” she said.

Margie Linder originally planned to meet her husband “in the pretty places via airplane,” she said.

However, “I realized that negotiating a flight to arrive at the same time Althea arrived in a foreign port entry could prove to be difficult and expensive,” Linder added.

After Larry Linder sailed alone from San Diego to Baja, Mexico, his wife met him in San Jose del Cabo to spend three days sailing with him? to Puerto Vallarta — her first passage on the boat.

“This passage gave me confidence” that she could withstand longer journeys at sea, Margie Linder said.

Linder said she and her husband attended safety seminars and chatted with other sailors. She also attended a “Women Who Sail” gathering in La Cruz, Mexico.

Journey around the globe begins in Mexico

After leaving Morro Bay, the Linders’ journey around the globe started in earnest in Banderas Bay in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Larry Linder was 59 at the time, while his wife was 51.

“On the next passage, we sailed west for 31 days to the Marquesas,” Margie Linder said. “Two hundred miles before we made landfall, Larry could smell dirt and I smelled tuberose and plumeria.

“By then, I had learned methods to overcome seasickness and started to get the hang of the lifestyle,” she said, such as consuming ginger and CBD products and occasionally “giving in and just throwing up.”

There were some medical issues, too.

“My shoulder went out,” Linder said.

While her husband sailed on alone, “I was home for 10 months,” she said, recovering from the injury.

The countries and territories they visited during their life-changing adventure included French Polynesia, Samoa, Fiji, New Zealand, Tonga and Papua New Guinea.

They also visited Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Madagascar and South Africa.

In addition, their journey included stops in Brazil, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Panama and Mexico.

“Each country/island/territory had something to special to offer,” Margie Linder said. “We met curious, warm, welcoming, generous people everywhere we went.

“Our most recent adventure was in the magical Sea of Cortez,” she said. “We made good friends along the way and continue to run into them along the way. … The cruising world is a very small community.”

She said an estimated 200 boats complete circumnavigations every year.

“It is no small endeavor,” she said. “Many sailors dream of it but the reality of all the details, large and small, can be overwhelming.”

“This adventure is not for the faint of heart or one who is easily discouraged,” Linder warned. “We have been challenged by equipment failure, storms and calms, new languages, finding boat parts … and mostly missing our family and friends.”

Dealing with unfavorable conditions and being away from “our four kids, our dog, warm showers and my art supplies” were the hardest parts for Margie Linder, she said.

Among the issues the Linders faced on their passage were dealing a broken prop shaft in the middle of the South Atlantic, getting knocked down in the Intertropical Convergence Zone as they were approaching the Caribbean, being unable to sail because there was no wind for five days and the equipment limitations of their sailing vessel.

Their circa-1975 Althea is one of about 830 Westsail 32-footer kits made from 1971 to 1980.

Larry Linder said he and his wife tried to fly home for visits with family at least once a year. Their new grandchildren are now 4 and 1 years old, respectively.

“It was good to get off the boat for a while,” he said.

During the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown, the couple had to push pause on their travels.

“We were at sea on a passage from South Africa to Brazil when the world’s borders closed,” Linder explained. “When we arrived in Recife, Brazil, we discovered that COVID had changed the world.”

The challenges faced by the couple were counterbalanced by the “indescribably, exhilarating feeling to be traveling under full sail with no engine, fueled only by the power of the wind,” Linder said. “It is liberating.”

Larry Linder said the joy is “being away from shore without a care in the world, disconnecting from the busy aspects of being on land (and) enjoying the peacefulness of the ocean during favorable conditions.”

“Perhaps someday we will put together our story in book form,” Margie Linder said, noting that they have a captain’s log book, social media posts and more than 15,000 photos to draw from.

What’s next for traveling retirees?

Now that the Linders have returned home to the Central Coast, they plan to live part-time in their Cambria home and “visit Althea regularly,” Margie Linder said.

“We would like to spend time in San Simeon Cove whenever the weather is favorable,” Linder said. “It’s a sweet anchorage to meet friends for a beach barbecue, take walks and enjoy the view.

She acknowledged that “not everyone can or even wants to leave their comfort zone to explore the unknown.”

However, Linder said, “You don’t have to sail around the world to explore it. I have learned that adventure can be taking a drive to a park you have never been to, taking that art class you always wanted to take, learning a new language or connecting to someone who does not share your opinions or beliefs.”

Linder said she and her husband are thankful for “our children accepting and tolerating the realities and responsibilities they faced as a result of our absence.”

“We are humbled by the love and support we have depended on to make this journey a reality,” she said.

Asked if she and her husband would ever embark on another adventure, she said, “You never know what the future would bring. I think Larry would like to sail across an ocean again.”

“It will be so good to be home,” Margie Linder said. “I am so proud of my Larry and proud of myself. … I never in my wildest dreams thought I could do anything like this.”