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Lessons Learned on the White Seal

Sharing a Remarkable Adventure with Mary Langworthy

photo provided Steering the White Seal across the finish line in a race in Georgetown, Exuma, Bahamas was one of many adventures shared by Mary Langworthy during her 296 day trip with her family while living on a sailboat.

photo provided High school junior Mary Langworthy shares through her blog and reflections a family journey that took her from the classroom and into the real global classroom while spending nine months on a sailboat with her parents.

photo provided Charlie, Meg and Mary Langworthy after a row/ swim/ hike on Shroud Cay, in the Exumas in the Bahamas.

Tuesday October 4, 2011

By Cookie Steponaitis

     Mary Langworthy was raised in Ferrisburgh and was by her own admission happily average. “I grew up in Ferrisburgh and spent seven happy years at Ferrisburgh Central School, making friends, chasing grounders on the softball diamond and practicing my cursive alphabet. I transitioned to middle school and continued to breeze along through life uneventfully. I was happy and fulfilled with my existence in Addison County. It was normal and I liked it.” Like many teenagers her age, Mary had big dreams but was grounded in her family and home town. All of that changed when she saw a presentation by Vermonter Tania Aebi, who had sailed around the world alone at the age of 18. When she broached the subject with her family one winter night it sparked not only a family debate but the beginning of a dream. After two years of planning, scrimping and saving, the family left Vermont on September 15th, 2010 for a journey that would not bring them home again until May 29, 2011.

       Aboard the White Seal, a thirty-six foot long sailboat that has been in the family for over twenty-five years, Mary and her parents Meg and Charlie Langworthy began a journey that took them over 3500 miles at sea at the speed of about five miles per hour, which gave Mary an incredible amount to write about and see. While the first week Mary quite openly refers to, “…as the week from hell,” she quickly acclimated to her moving home and world classroom that took her first to New York City and into the museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In addition the trip provided a first class education in the realities of overnight ocean passages and the ability of the sea to change, shift and dominate the day no matter what was planned. While Mary’s world grew exponentially, her blog recorded the realities of the accommodations and was frankly honest about the non-romantic nature of living on the ship. “I slept in a bunk about the size of a coffin, with a mattress about as forgiving as bedrock,” Mary wrote. “Our boat had no running water, shower, refrigerator or heating system. If sailing the seas sounds luxuriously romantic to you, it wasn’t.”

       Struck by the brilliance of the Caribbean waters, Mary often found herself at a loss for words at the beauty and diversity of the places and opportunities she experienced. “I snorkeled in underwater grottos loaded with coral and colorful fish,” she shared from her journal. “I went to Junkanoo in Nassau, the wild Bahamian equivalent of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras that happens every New Years. I dove on ocean reefs and even attended public school for a day. I learned how to crack and harvest coconuts. I lived the dream.”

       While Mary’s adventure came officially to an end in May 2011, her sophomore year of high school was a once in a life time education that she carries with her every day. A reflective writer and talented photographer, Mary’s blog documenting her trip shares how her preconceived notions about the adventure dimmed with the realities of how the sailing trip changed her world. “I hoped to somehow change and become worldly, ambitious, and an informed person. I think I had a glorified idea of what I aspired to become, and things didn't exactly turn out that way. I learned that I can be happy alone. I learned that there are many, many different cultures out there, all of which deserve respect. I saw beautiful sights. I saw poverty. I saw greed. My eyes and soul were opened to experiences I never would have encountered in Vergennes and I am grateful that I had that opportunity.”

      Mary’s 267 day adventure included over 7000 images, one particularly dry spell of over forty days without a shower, the discovery of over 13 sand dollars and the consumption of 24 jars of peanut butter that started the journey in September with the family. True to her teenage curiosity and love of writing, her blog at http://www.marysyearofsailing.blogspot.com/ captures not only the sights, sounds and emotions of her journey, but the immeasurable growth of a young woman who embraced the world as her classroom and created memories that will be with her a lifetime. Mary concludes her blog with a quote from Mark Twain that she feels encapsulates the rationale behind her family’s decision to not only dream, but to embrace the journey. “Mark Twain really hit the nail on the head when he said,” concluded Mary. “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do, than by those you did.”

     The Valley Voice salutes Mary and her family for the journey of a lifetime that allowed a child to become a global citizen and capture forever memories of an adventure that brought together a family opening up the world for the next generation. Mary is currently a junior at Vergennes Union High School and is excitedly looking forward to more adventures and some even more unique… but we won’t spoil the news on those just yet. Keep looking in the future for a new blog and new photos!

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