Janis Couvreux - Sail Cowabunga!: A Familys 10 Years at Sea

A pioneering family adventure built on creativity, grit, ingenuity, and joie de vivre, all bound together by an overwhelming love for all on board and the incredible life Janis and Michel created. Their two boys wonder, grow and thrive, from tiny passengers to crewmates who become captain-worthy when life-threatening surgery sidelines Michel for a time. Throughout it all, their steadfast and beloved Cowabunga carries them ever forward, at times through seemingly impossible situations. We were able to wrap the world around us, writes Janis, imparting a touch of the magic that seemed to guide and watch over them. What a gift it is to sail along and catch the Cowabunga spirit!

Peter Stein, childrens author of Cars Galore and the Galore Series at Candlewick Press, and Little Reds Riding Hood of Scholastic Inc.s Orchard Books
http://painted-words.com/portfolio/peter-stein/
https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/authorpage/peter-stein.html
http://www.smartbooksforsmartkids.com/tag/peter-stein/

What a wonderful way to be a family: A must read. Its not just a good story, I know those two boys who spent 10 years at sea with their parents, and they both grew up to be good human beings who care and make a difference every day!

Philippe Kahn, Inventor of the camera phone, Time Magazines 2016 list of most influential images of all time, Owner/Helmsman of the sailing team Pegasus, CEO Fullpower Technologies

Janis and Michel took their newborn and three-year-old sons on a 10-year boat schooling experience. In this book, I discovered how homeschooling two children at sea from France to California opened this family to realities that cannot be learned on land.

Delphine Duler, teaching professional at
Lyce Franais de San Francisco

Janis Couvreux has written a vivid and fascinating account of her familys extraordinary journey. Sail Cowabunga! is a story of perseverance and determination, a story about personal growth and

relationships. Armchair travelers and adventurous types, this remarkable story is for you.

Marlene Cullen, founder of Writers Forum of
Petaluma and host of The Write Spot Blog
www.TheWriteSpot.us

Courageous and inspiring, Sail Cowabunga! is beautifully written, honest and rife with cruiser-moxie. This heroic story is a must-read for anyone considering a jump out of suburbia and into a quality life, rich with travel and adventure. Janis Lasky Couvreux's intriguing memoir is a culmination of her adventurous spirit, profound relationships, and on-the-water plightsall while navigating family life. Sail Cowabunga! is a seafarer's guide to living one's dreams; aptly exposing the equally imperative values of patience and perseverance.

Lynne Rey, author of travel-school cruising blog
www.mvcortado.com

One word describes this book, Magnifique! This is a story of resiliency, teamwork, family, love and courage. As a landlubber, I was fascinated with life at sea for a young family. I know now why your fabulous son is so family oriented and adventurous. Cowabunga has new meaning for me.

Keith Schneider, Assistant Chief,
West Metro Fire Rescue in Littleton, Colorado

Sure, we have all engaged in a risky caper at some point. Yet, when do we hear of an entire family embarking upon an extended and unlikely adventure as this? Logistical conundrums from the simplest daily tasks, bureaucratic and mechanical complications, coping strategies to survive emergencies, all required exceptional physical and emotional stamina and resourcefulness. Try raising well-adjusted boys and keeping a marriage nicely afloat...on a boat. The Couvreux Family reinvented family traditions, found generous camaraderie at each port, and gazed toward the next horizon. This astonishing journey is full of surprises, and heart, to the very last.

Laurie Lubeck, Editor, Japan Association of
Travel Agents Ecotourism Handbook

The curious and courageous Couvreuxs and their trusty sail boat Cowabunga. Janis Couvreux, husband, Michel, and their two young sons invite the reader to squeeze into that sailboat as they ride the waves to places most of us will never venture: the complicated ports of Africa, strange islands smack in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, tiny inlets along the eastern coast of South America, to name a few. Janiss exquisite storytelling style puts the reader in the thick of the adventure, from being rescued by the U.S. Navy to being the rescuers during a devastating flood in Brazil along with how to cook family dinner every night strapped into the galley, so the waves dont knock you over while you are stirring the soup. The life the Couvreuxs chose to live and the lives of others they got to share it with, even for a little while, paint a portrait of what it means to be human in its many varied forms around the planet. And because Janis has gifted us this book, Sail Cowabunga! A Family's Ten Years at Sea, the rest of us get to live it too. Cowabunga!

Elaine S. Silver, editor and writer

What a delightful read. Janiss story has plenty of excitement without the drama and is a solid story of a family of adventurers. Sean (aka Doogie) is a great shipmate, and after reading this, I understand how he got to be that way.

Dawn Riley, professional skipper, four Americas Cup Teams, two Around the World Races, Youngest Sailor, and CEO of an Americas Cup Team

Sail
Cowabunga!

A Familys Ten Years at Sea

Janis Lasky Couvreux

Filles Vertes Publishing

Coeur dAlene, ID

Copyright 2017 by Janis Lasky Couvreux

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

Filles Vertes Publishing, LLC

PO Box 1075

Coeur dAlene, ID 83816

www.website-url.com

Publishers Note: Although every precaution has been taken to verify the accuracy of the information contained herein, the author and publisher assume no responsibility for any errors or omissions. No liability is assumed for damages that may result from the use of information contained within. Some names and identifying details may have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.

Book Layout 2017 Filles Vertes Publishing

Cover Design 2017 Broken Arrow Designs

www.brokenarrowdesigns.org

Books may be purchased in quantity and/or special sales by contacting the publisher.

Sail Cowabunga!/ Janis Couvreux. -- 1st ed.

ISBN 978-1-946802-04-0

eBook ISBN 978-1-946802-05-7

To the lives of my loves, Michel, Sean, Brendan and my grandchildren Claire, Sky, Matthew, and Tao.

This is your story.

M essage in a B ottle

I

had a minor catastrophe in my kitchen the other day. My beloved kitchen tongs broke, and I cried. I was heartbroken. Really? Yes, really. This couldn't be! I had used these nondescript, 30-year-old, Ace Hardware-type tongs daily for 10 years on our sailboat, Cowabunga, and for over 25 years since. They couldnt give up the ghost now.

These were the same tongs that had grappled with the 30 lobsters we caught on my thirtieth birthday in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. These same tongs had plucked the Uruguayan snails from the bucket to become escargots. I had used them to retrieve steamy hot items from my oven, stove, and pressure cooker, and they were the ones Michel had always called for when flipping the meat on the grill at the back of the boat. These were the same tongs that our boys, Sean and Brendan, used to dig out their Lego pieces which were hiding under the floorboards. These treasured tongs had borne witness to our everyday life on the boat and so much more and they broke! When it happened, Michel and I looked at each other. The end of an era? All that history up in smoke, poof! Just like that? So much emotion for a pair of cheap (and I mean really cheap) kitchen tongs.