THE LATITUDE 38 INTERVIEW
Marc & Doreen In contrast to many well-heeled modern cruisers, Marc and Doreen Gounard have proven that you don't need a fancy boat, all the latest gadgetry and deep pockets to explore the world under sail. Since launching their home-built 33-ft cat, Imani, in 1994, they have done four half-year stints cruising Mexico and a 4.5-year westward circumnavigation, via the canals, with their young kids aboard. Marc, a Frenchman who was born in the port town of Sete, but also spent a decade in North Africa during his youth, had dreams of sailing the world since his grade school days. Doreen, who was born and raised in Massachusetts, was not a sailor before she met Marc, but always loved the water. Some of her fondest childhood memories are of boating and swimming on lakes at New England summer camps. Permanently based at Sausalito's Galilee Harbor marina, where Doreen is the Harbor Manager, the couple has always home-schooled their kids, Maya and Tristan, whether traveling or at home at Galilee. Now 20, daughter Maya is currently thriving at Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass. We spent a few pleasant hours with Marc and Doreen recently, learning about their travels and their philosophy about the cruising lifestyle. They plan to take off again this fall for a 10-month circuit out to French Polynesia, then north to Hawaii and home again. Latitude 38: First a little background. We know you've been together a long time. Did you meet here in Sausalito? Marc: No, we actually met in Washington, DC in 1985, a while after I had delivered a boat from Greece to Florida. We were married about a year later — 21 years ago. Lat 38: Doreen, we understand that you didn't know much about sailing when you met. Did you have any idea what you were getting into? Doreen: Well, without knowing anything about sailing, I found myself falling in love with a sailor. Within the first two weeks it was clear that a boat would eventually be part of our story. Lat 38: So when did you move to California? Doreen: In April of '87. I was pregnant with our daughter Maya at the time. A week after we arrived we were invited to go out sailing with some new friends. We had never seen so many boats in one place before. Turned out it was Opening Day. Lat 38: Tell us about building the boat. Who's the designer and where did you build her? Marc: We started building her in August of '89, just before the earthquake. We rented a flat in West Oakland with a big backyard — it was sort of a compound, really. Living there
"Within the first two weeks it was clear that a boat would eventually be part of our story." was pretty edgy, you know, dangerous, but we actually had no problems. Imani's design is called a 10.2 Inspiration, by Australian designer Roger Simpson. She's 33 feet by 19.5, very beamy, which is why we have so much space. She's very well designed. I'm really, really happy with her. Lat 38: Is she cold-molded? Marc: The hull is actually strip-planked with red western cedar; sandwiched with 10-oz triaxial cloth on both sides, and cedar in the middle. The rest is marine-grade ply with fiberglass. Lat 38: Sounds like pretty challenging work. Had you done Page 118 •
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this before? Marc: No, but I had a mentor, a French guy named Marc Ginisty, who'd built six boats in five years. I was also trained in school as a marine engineer, although I never practiced that profession. I got into sailboats instead, and I had wanted to build one for a long time. We have a classic monohull rig — nothing fancy — an outboard engine, no roller furling and no fridge. So we've kept her very simple. We do have a wind generator and two solar panels, so in the tropics we have more power than we need. We can watch TV, use the radio, nav lights — all that's taken care of by the sun. And if it's cloudy, it's usually windy, so we use the wind generator. We have virtually no 'carbon footprint'! Lat 38: How long did it take you to build her? Marc: About 4.5 years to finish the basic shell. We launched her in '94, then moved her to Sausalito to finish her. Lat 38: And the cost, if you don't mind us asking? Marc: About $35,000 all together, including the plans. Lat 38: So, you built Imani specifically to go cruising? Marc: Absolutely. I've had cruising in mind since I was 9 years old. Doreen: And that's why we've always home-schooled both kids. We always knew we were going cruising. Maya's first actual classroom experience was at College of Marin, at age 16, after we came back. Lat 38: What sort of home-schooling regimen did you follow? Doreen: We've always looked at what is required by the California curriculum, then we get our own materials. We've been at it for a while, so I have found that if we can make it as much fun as possible — not really trying to create a traditional school environment at home, but have the learning come through everything we're doing — then it's far more doable. You've got to figure out what your goals are, and help your kids figure out what their goals are. I was primarily the home schooling parent. There's a point where I told the kids, "You've got two choices in this life. You can be smart, or you can be dumb. It's really up to you. I'm not going to ride you like crazy." That's what's hard about home schooling on a boat. I see parents end up in a very adversarial position which is really hard on them, and it's hard on the kids. And it destroys the
