POULSBO — When Neil and Nancy Sirman’s 36-foot Cape George, the Active Light, last saw Poulsbo’s shores in August 2000, Sept. 11 was just the day after Sept. 10. Cell phones hadn’t yet become the rage, and the curse of the Bambino had yet to be broken.
Now, eight years later, the Active Light has once again docked at the Port of Poulsbo, carrying with it two travelers seasoned from the world seen once over.
Neil, 65, and Nancy, 62, returned from their great global journey this month. Thousands of miles, thousands of photos and one bypass surgery later, Neil and Nancy are now back on land, with plenty of stories to share and a boat down to its waterline with souvenirs.
They told some of their tales over Roibos, a South African herbal tea, in the galley of the Active Light earlier this month.
The pair saw the South Pacific, New Zealand, Fiji, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Colombia and more. From Napoleon’s Tomb on Saint Helena and horse races in Mexico to Tasmanian camp outs and African safaris, the Sirmans’ epic adventures spanned a host of places many only hear about secondhand.
Sharing a boyhood dream
“All my life it was something I wanted to do,” said Neil, who grew up in Texas and retired from work in Keyport in 1999.
After meeting Nancy, the two spent years preparing for the trip, gaining their sea legs and taking karate lessons, eventually becoming black belts in the craft.
“We thought, ‘we are prepared now to defend ourselves in any kind of issue,’” Neil said. Turns out, there wasn’t much need, as they never faced the threats of pirates or muggers.
“Maybe we were just incredibly lucky,” Nancy contended.
And she might just be correct, as their eight years spent on the seas turned only two bouts with poor weather. A squall in their first year abroad accounted for “two hours of sheer terror,” and three days of Mother Nature’s fitfulness struck on their final leg home.
But more than anything, those eight years were filled with exploration of the greatest kind, as they, in Neil’s words, used the Active Light “like a taxi to get to different countries.”
Their longest passage — during which they would go on alternating three-hour night watch shifts — was 48 days long. That’s 6,200 miles from Capetown to Curacao without docking at a port.
“I’d say I’m probably a boater by now,” joked Nancy, who wasn’t one before meeting Neil. She’s lived most of her life in Central Kitsap, where she worked as a teacher. But what began as Neil’s lifelong aspiration soon became hers as well.
Their plan began with the outline of a five year journey, though that quickly grew to six, and eventually eight years. They launched from the D Dock of Poulsbo on August 20, 2000, and returned to an awaiting slot on that very same dock June 4.
Making music around the world
It wasn’t all play for the Active Light crew. Neil and Nancy put their music and teaching abilities to use, taking on a youth orchestra in Le Paz, and later joining in with a brass band in Tonga.
Neil said they hadn’t planned on becoming so involved teaching and performing with the school band in Le Paz; it just kind of happened.
“We started out helping one or two nights a week,” he said. “A year later we were doing four to five nights a week.”
Nancy said the two also made an effort to get in touch with locals at each of their stops instead of visiting tourist-ridden areas.
“You hear a different slant on the news happenings and different ideas, a different view of your own country,” she said. She said some of the critters, just like the people, were welcoming.
“I swam next to a turtle that was larger than I am,” she said, waving her arms in a fluid motion like the undersea creatures. For fifteen minutes in the unspoiled waters of the Chagos Islands she swam with it, surrounded, she said, by schools of iridescent fish.
And the cars weren’t bad as well, they reported, speaking fondly of an ‘85 Nissan Bluebird they put 23,000 kilometers on while in Australia.
“Best car we’ve ever had in our lives,” they said.
Not all pleasant moments were expected, as Neil underwent an unplanned five-way bypass surgery in a Bangkok hospital – an experience he said was “five star.”
“It was the most successful and happy operation anybody ever had,” he said.
Returning to the beginning
Neil said while Nancy was esctatic upon their return home, he was a little torn.
“I am conflicted,” he said. “I’m happy to be back but I also really liked this trip, and I think I’m going to miss the cruising life. It was really grand.”
And while they say they’ve got 20,000 digital photos from their trip, along with journals and the ship’s log, the journey wouldn’t have been possible without their third crew member, Susan Johnson, who took care of their affairs here in Poulsbo.
So what’s next for the traveling duo? While they said they plan to stay on land for a while, they’ve got their eye on another visit to Thailand, and possibly Alaska as well.
But first, it’s time to unload.
Neil humored the Active Light was about to sink under the weight of their return load – then became serious – it really is: “This boat is sinking with knick knacks we’ve bought.”
