My partner and I spent five years living off the grid and living full-time on our sailboat(s). We’ve owned two Lagoon 450F catamarans. If you’re wondering why two, you’ll have to read our survival story below! My sailing adventure memoir has just launched. If you’re interested in sailing, you need this book!
Early Praise for the Book:
“A must‑read for current and would‑be cruisers—full of sailing wisdom, dream‑worthy destinations, and real‑world insight on surviving an accident at sea.”
–Fraser Seymore, founder YachtX
Sailing Sweet Caroline: A Courageous Tale of Life, Love, and Manifesting Dreams
What happens when a midlife woman bets everything on love, a sailboat, and a dream — only to watch it all disappear beneath the sea?
After the end of a thirty-year marriage, Carol K. McClain makes a bold and unexpected choice: she trades the familiarity of mountain life for the uncertainty of blue water sailing. Alongside her partner Thomas, she steps aboard a forty-five-foot catamaran and commits fully to the cruising dream — a life defined by weather windows, open passages, mechanical challenges, and the quiet magic found only offshore.
What begins as a romantic reinvention quickly reveals the realities every sailor must face. Continual boat problems test their finances and their relationship. Tight living quarters demand patience and resilience. Each passage requires preparation, vigilance, and trust — not only in their vessel, but in each other.
Yet with every mile sailed, their confidence grows. They find community among fellow cruisers, discover the rhythms of life at anchor, and embrace the rare freedom that draws sailors to the sea in the first place.
Then, sixteen months into their realized dream, the unthinkable happens.
A catastrophic accident a hundred miles from land leaves Carol and Thomas floating in the dark Caribbean, helpless as Sweet Caroline — their home, their lifestyle, and everything they own — slips beneath the waves.
Rescued in a dramatic nighttime operation by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew, they survive. But survival brings a question far greater than how to reach shore.
When the dream you built disappears overnight, what course do you set next?
Through breathtaking adventure and devastating loss, Carol’s inner mermaid rises — tempered by experience and guided by the hard-earned wisdom of the sea. Along the way, the ocean reveals sailing pearls: practical lessons forged through risk, preparation, community, and the humbling power of nature.
Sailing Sweet Caroline is more than a memoir of life afloat. It is a story of seamanship, partnership, courage, and the resilience required to begin again when the chart you trusted is suddenly gone.
For sailors, dreamers, and anyone standing at the edge of a bold new chapter, this unforgettable voyage is a powerful reminder:
Sometimes the greatest navigation happens after the storm.
Our Survival Story
Beloved Home Meets Rough Seas
from the ACR Personal Locater Beacon website.
I am a survivor of a catastrophic accident when our 45 foot catamaran hit an obstruction 100 miles from the Dominican Republic. To read our survivor story and daring USCG rescue from the ACR Beacon website click here.
The Adventure Picture Book
Explore the pictures of the Sailing Sweet Caroline adventure. The real life pictures from our sailing adventures are organized by chapters from the book.