Former Ledyard Family Now Citizens of World

All of us have big dreams, but not everyone can have them come true.

Tom and Kim Lawler are living the dream. 

Back in July of 2008, the former Ledyard residents boarded their Nordhavn 50-foot trawler and, with their 7-year-old daughter Emily, set sail for ports around the world. They are currently on Kawau Island near New Zealand.

And that’s where they were on March 11 when the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. Fortunately, they saw little impact and the family is fine.

Tom Lawler wrote in his blog last week that he was not even aware of the tragedy until he took a dinghy over to the local yacht club for some gas and milk. He wrote that there was swirling brown water for a while in the Pacific, but that has since stopped.

But he said he shudders to think of the devastation to some of the smaller islands in the Pacific, adding that some of them are not much more than two meters (less than six feet) above sea level. 

Lawler retired from Electric Boat, where he was an engineer. He and Kim, who worked in the dental health field, packed up and their family of three and took off.

The Lawlers had always loved boats and the ocean. They had been taking sailing vacations in the Caribbean for a number of years. They began planning their trip, saving their money, doing research on various kinds of boats and boning up on coastal maps and charts.

An important factor in determining when to start the trip was Emily’s age. They decided 7 would be a good age because she would be 12 or 13 when they finally return home and she could re-enter school and make friends at that critical age. They also thought that by age 7, Emily would have enough knowledge about boats and safety to cope well.

The Lawlers plan to be at sea for five years or so. Tom Lawler describes the trip as leisurely, adding they do not have a rigid schedule and just want to explore.  They plan to stay in the places they like for a while and leave places early that they don’t like.

Emily is being home-schooled on board, but perhaps the best education will be the sights, sounds, cultures and adventures she will be exposed to.

Kim Lawler has a medical background and is licensed in first aid and CPR as well as knowing other basic medical procedures. So if there is an illness or injury on board, she will be able to use her skills and expertise to help avert any major calamity.  She has already had to give stitches to Emily when her head found an errant swing in the Bahamas.

Before their odyssey is over they hope to complete a global circumnavigation and will next cruise Fiji, Vanuatu, New Zealand and Australia, as well as Indonesia and Malaysia.

Ledyard Patch will provide occasional reports on how and where the Lawlers are, but you can keep up with their adventures through their blog at:  http://mvemilygrace.blogspot.com