Meet The Couple Living Their Dream And Raising Their Daughters On The Ocean

Canadian couple Genevieve and Eben Stolz had been fulfilling their dream of sailing round the Caribbean when they found out they were expecting a child.

The sailing couple had to decide whether to return home or continue with their adventure. They decided to continue with their adventure and now have two daughters Aria and Ellia who they have brought up living on the ocean.

Their first daughter, Aria, is now five and has been joined by sister Ellia, three, and they have become quite the sailors, having spent all their life on their 41ft Morgan Classic boat.

Taking to the ocean like ducks to water, the young pair have had experiences many children would long for.  From playing with marine life such as a stingray in the Bahamas, to snorkelling, kite-boarding and paddling, the water lovers have enjoyed non stop adventures with an unbeatable view.

Arias is full of energy, and pushes it to the max all day long. Thankfully this five year old that still needs a nap midday, gives mama a break,’ writes Genevieve on her blog, itsanecessity. At any point in time Ellia will be trying to wander off to do her own activity or she will be right by your side trying to converse with you like a real grown-up. It is hilarious watching the wheels turn in this little ones head.

 Their stay in the Bahamas was particularly exciting for the family, as they met a lot of other boat families. ‘There is a very tight sailing community there and many of them watched our daughters grow up and have created good bonds with them. The Bahamas is like the retired sailor’s paradise!’ Genevieve said to MailOnline.

The family has managed to tick many bucketlist destinations off, from Puerto Rico to the Spanish Virgins. At the same time, the girls have been home-schooled along the way, using Genevieve’s previous experience as an English school teacher.  The girls have not only thrived at learning to man the sailing boat, but have also surpassed the level of education expected for their age.

When the pair announced they would be raising their daughters as sailors, their families were less than thrilled.  ‘Looking at all the pictures we sent home it was beyond reproach that these girls were meant to be raised living a life less ordinary and they thrive in this environment. They are made to be beach bums,’ Genevieve wrote on Boredpanda.

Their most-asked question is how they fund this extraordinary lifestyle. The couple initially used money saved from Eben’s former thriving sales job.

 Despite his success, Eben would often wake in the night suffering from panic attacks and anxiety from the stress. Deciding they wanted a change of life, the couple sold everything they could and rented out their house in order to buy a worn-down boat that was desperately in need of love and attention.

41ft Necesse became their new home, and soon had to house one more, with the birth of Arias.  After a brief six month stint back in Canada for the birth of Ellia, the couple had raised more funds for their next sea-faring adventure in the Dominican Republic.

They decided to sell their house back home to raise even more money, and Eben did some jobs fixing boats for day-to-day cashflow.  The couple also rely on proceeds from Genevieve’s blog, which tells the story of their explorations.

The couple met back when they were 18, when they were undertaking a Canada World Youth exchange between Northern Quebec and Burkina Faso.

After the program ended, the pair briefly dated, before heading back to their separate provinces.  The flame never truly died, and through emails they managed to keep in contact.  After a brief meet-up they realised they had strong feelings for each other and dated for a year before getting engaged.

The pair were married in December in 2008 and kick-started their out-of-the-box life together by backpacking around Central America.

‘Boat life has spoiled us. Forget returning to ‘normal’ life after this. There is no way Eben will ever feel happy working a 9-5 after having spent so many days making his own schedule. We have been able to spend 24/7/365 with our daughters, watching them grow up, in some of the most formative years of their lives. We have created relationships with them that I think will stay strong throughout their lives and we have created adventurous souls in both of them,’ Genevieve said.

Source: Daily Mail