Yacht

on watch
On the island of Efate in the Vanu
him and reassured him that “W
anyone in
the nation’s largest boating education
organization. After several years of
study and planning, he set off on
December 18, 2003 aboard his 42-foot
(12.8m) Passport for the adventure of
a lifetime. The
final leg of the
journey was
from Brazil to
Saint Lucia and
then home.
His return was
highlighted by
members of the local Shrewsbury
Power Squadron who formed a
flotilla of vessels to escort their courageous
fellow sailor as he rounded
Sandy Hook. The parade lasted two
hours followed by a well-deserved
celebration at the Raritan Yacht Club.
Gage dreamed of sailing around the
world since 1977. In 2003 he came to
the realization that those “dreams
were golden, but time was a thief”.
He looked for the ideal boat and
when he first saw his sloop, he became
convinced that this would be
the vessel to share his journey. He
thought of no more fitting name to
christen her than Dream Catcher.
Gage says that the most gratifying
aspect of the journey has not been the
s u c c e s s f u l
completion but
rather the individual
legs taken
and the people
met along the
way. On the
isolated Pacific
Island of Suarrow,
boat folk joined him in singing,
dancing and story-telling while
dining on tuna, crab and rice prepared
by the sole island resident,
Papa John (crab and rice pizza, anyone?-
Ed). In the Figis, he met with island
chiefs and was presented with their
traditional beverage, kava, a purported
mood mellowing drink
“which had the taste and consistency
of mud”.
At Port Vila on the tiny island Efate in
the Vanuatu Archipelago, a local
inhabitant greeted him and reassured
him that: “We are very friendly, we
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