Local couple begins circumnavigating the world
Goal is to return home in 2007

Bethany Norgaard
Oakdale Lake Elmo Review (Minnesota) - published feb 2004
Lillie Suburban Newspapers (Minnesota)

Pat and Ali Schulte were sitting at a bar discussing their life together, knowing that they wanted to do something grand and adventurous, but not really wanting to backpack around the world and sleep in a tent.

Later, Pat stumbled onto a website dedicated to a couple who sailed around the Mediterranean together for a few years.

Intrigued, he asked Ali if she would like to take a year or two off and sail around the ocean, visiting various countries and islands. She quickly agreed, adding that perhaps they could also get an RV and tour the country afterwards.

But the idea kept growing.

While Pat started to do research on sailing, he came across the book "Sailing Promise" by Alyne Main, which told the story of a young couple who sailed around the world without much experience.

"After reading that, I thought, 'How hard can it be?'" Pat said in an email interview last week. "So I asked Ali if she would like to do that instead. She said if I felt we could do it, then yes."

Ali said, though, that if the couple was going to sell everything they owned to travel, they might as well be gone for a significant amount of time enabling them to spend more time at various locations.

"So, now the plan was to sail around the world in about four years," Pat said.

The idea was hatched in May 2002. Now, Ali and Pat, who are both 30, are near Staniel Cay, an island in the Bahamas.

Anyone can follow them along by going to their website at www.bumfuzzle.com. Bumfuzzle, which is the name of their boat, means confused, such as to not have an explanation for what you are doing. The couple also welcomes email at aliandpat@bumfuzzle.com.

Ali, who grew up in Lake Elmo, and Pat, a former Maplewood resident, met at Tartan High School. They started dating their junior year before graduating in 1992. They married in 1997 and moved to Chicago in 2000. In 2002, they decided to sell everything they own, buy a 35-foot catamaran and travel around the world.

"The wide majority of people out doing this sort of thing are in the over-50 (years old) crowd, with many doing it in their 60s and 70s," Pat said. "While we admire them for doing it, we can't imagine doing it at that age ourselves. We think our age is the perfect time to do something like this. We are able to enjoy it so much more because there are no physical limitations holding us back."

They planned for well over one year and took a single sailing class on Lake Michigan in May 2003.

"(We) decided that was enough lessons," Pat said. "We'd learn the rest on our own boat."

In July, the couple went to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., to look for a boat. They found one that had been on the market for just three days and bought it.

After closing on the sale of their Chicago condo on Aug. 25, Ali and Pat visited Minnesota for a few weeks. Then they moved onto their boat on Sept. 13.

"We set sail for the Bahamas in November," Pat said. "We've been cruising south through the Bahamas since then."

After firmly deciding to sail around the world, Pat and Ali told their parents their plans in April 2003. Pat said his parents, who lived in Dallas, Texas, took it well, although his mom was worried about his safety.

"(Ali's) parents were a bit shocked, but her mom came around quickly, and then told us to be careful," Pat said. "Her dad just started grilling me with questions about how much it would cost."

Which, of course, is one of the first questions everyone asks them.

On their website, the couple explains their budget. They say a boat can cost between $20,000 and millions of dollars, and then there are also extra costs for boat supplies. Ali and Pat decided to go with a roomier catamaran for comfort and appearance and spent over $25,000 on boat supplies.

Every month, they try to spend about $1,750 on living expenses, but have gone over that amount with food and marina fees.

"You are probably thinking, 'who can live on $1,750 a month?' the couple wrote on their website. "But remember, we will not be paying a mortgage, a car payment, car insurance, cable TV, phone bill, heating bill, water bill, property taxes ... the list seems endless."

In his email, Pat said they were able to finance the trip through money the couple saved during their time in Chicago. Ali worked as an administrative assistant with a law firm in the Sears Tower and Pat was a commodities trader at the Chicago Board of Trade.

"Ali's job paid well enough to pay all our bills as well as the mortgage on our condo," Pat said. "I was self-employed and worked as a trader.... I was able to take on a lot of risk in trading positions. Risk could have either paid off nicely or wiped us out. Luckily, I was a pretty good trader."

The couple officially left for sea on Nov. 10, 2003, and arrived in Biscayne Bay on the 11th. Since then, they have traveled throughout the Bahamas, landing on islands such as Bimini, where Pat and Ali saw dolphins swimming just off the front of their boat.

"That is the sort of thing that a trip like this is all about," Pat said. "We have already seen so many amazing and unique things: the dolphins, the spotted eagle rays, swimming with sharks, great walks on deserted beaches, sunsets, the stars. There are so many great things to explore out there."

So far, they have enjoyed Dunmore Town on Harbor Island the most.

"It's a beautiful town full of brightly painted houses, lots of little shops and restaurants, and its famous pink sand beaches which were the best we've ever seen," Pat said. "Our favorite island was probably Norman's Cay. While not technically deserted, except for a few houses and a bar next to the little airstrip, it was essentially deserted. There, we were able to snorkel with giant spotted eagle rays."

In November, they spent Thanksgiving at the Bimini Big Game Yacht Club, where they were able to eat all the traditional foods along with lobster bisque. Christmas was celebrated in Nassau.

And they haven't been completely cut off from their family. The couple is able to check their email daily through a computer system called Sailmail. Also, Ali's younger sister, Katy, met them in Nassau and spent time traveling with them in January.

But pretty much all their time is spent alone together on the boat, sailing from island to island.

"Surprisingly, most of the islands in the Bahamas are deserted, so we have had two stretches so far of three weeks each that we haven't had any towns or stores to go into," he said.

While on the deserted islands, Pat said the couple reads, swims, fishes or just explores the land.

"When we get to an island that has a town on it, we spend our time hanging out in the local bars, eating at restaurants, updating the website if there is Internet available and just wandering throughout town," he said. "Then, we head back to the boat. It's a great way to travel around the world. Can you imagine how expensive it would be to stay in hotels for four years?"

The couple's next major stop is Panama, but first they will need to travel through the Panama Canal sometime at the end of April.

"Until then, we just slowly work our way in that direction," Pat said. "We only have a rough itinerary of places we need to be at certain times, so if we like a place, we just stay until we are ready to continue on."