Couple to Share Sailing Adventures

A lifetime of cruising adventures does not have to be an expensive or complicated undertaking--just ask Larry and Lin Pardey, who have been sailing the world since 1969.

They will discuss their adventures Wednesday at the Ventura College Theater. The Pardeys have traveled to more than 60 countries in their self-built boats, the 24-foot Seraffyn and the 29-foot teak cutter Taleisin.

Originally from British Columbia, Larry was inspired by friends who escaped the Canadian winters by sailing to tropical destinations.

“I wanted to travel and a boat seemed like a logical, inexpensive means to do that,” he said.

Lin, a native Southern Californian, met Larry when he was building Seraffyn.

They have since voyaged 45,000 miles on the boat, through Mexico, the Panama Canal and then to Europe and the Baltic Sea. They spent three years in the Mediterranean, headed south through the Red Sea, across the Indian Ocean and to Japan, then to Canada and back to their Newport Beach launching pad.

On Taleisin, they voyaged 47,000 miles, sailing the Pacific from California. These cruises included trips to New Zealand, Australia, Tasmania, South Africa, Brazil and the British Isles.

“We’ve had so many good times and so few bad experiences,” Lin said. “Each place we have visited has been a different adventure.”

The Pardeys have written nine books and produced four films on cruising the seas.

The presentation will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Ventura College Theater, located on Loma Vista Road on the north side of campus. For more information, call 654-6459.

For more information on an April 5 seminar at the Ventura County Maritime Museum, call 984-6260.