| | |  Vallarta Living | August 2009 
Out-of-the-Box Life Stories Abound on the Brier Patch
 Roberta Rand - PVNN
August 14, 2009
| | When we boarded the Brier Patch, an elegant 60' schooner piloted by Captain Phil Kinneson and firstmate EJ, little did I know how fascinating and inspiring some of our passengers' stories would be. (photos by SF Productions) | |
Everyone has a story - usually one worth recording. That's especially true of those who've made the radical decision to re-invent their lives in Puerto Vallarta. They are drawn here by a dream, a vision or just the gnawing certainty that something had to change.
When we boarded the Brier Patch, an elegant 60' schooner piloted by Captain Phil Kinneson and firstmate EJ, little did I know just how fascinating, wide-ranging and inspiring some of our passengers' stories would be.
Captain Phil and EJ left their home in San Diego a few years ago, originally intending to sail all the way to Ecuador. But when they got to Puerto Vallarta, the magic of this tropical paradise seduced them into staying. They joined the Puerto Vallarta Yacht & Fishing Charter Association, and now Phil and EJ host charter expeditions for destinations around Banderas Bay.
While Phil pilots the boat, EJ prepares gourmet snacks for guests. She's an adventurous chef who searches for unique and intricate recipes. On this trip, she serves sweet avocado pie and chipotle-spiked raspberry Margaritas. Clearly, this adventure is a dream realized.
"Our house in San Diego is still there, and we can go back when we're ready," says EJ. But for now, they are serenely content with their life on the water. The rat race can continue without them, thank you very much.
Katerine is a tall, lanky, redhead, fair-complected, and with an accent hard to pinpoint. "I am from Estonia, in the northeast of Europe, near Finland," she explains. Who woulda' thunk? For the last 10 years, Katerine has worked as a freelance film editor in New York, and just recently obtained her American citizenship.
But her passion is sailing. As a child, she was entranced by Kon-Tiki, Norwegian adventurer Thor Heyerdahl's chronicle of his exploration of the South Seas. For the past few years, Katerine has flown into Vallarta for a month at a time to work on her sailboat, tied up in Marina Vallarta. Now she's realizing her own dream of exploring the Pacific. Her goal is to sail from PV to the Marquesas Islands in French Polynesia, and hopefully on to New Zealand. "It's taken me two years to get my boat in shape. But I am finally leaving next week."
Chloe is a psychologist who hails from Ft. Collins, Colo. She arrived in Vallarta in February of this year with her husband, a mortgage lender. While the floundering US economy was taking its toll on her husband's business, opportunities in Vallarta were abundant.
After selling off most of their possessions in estate sales, they came to Vallarta with their two dogs and what they could load onto a small trailer. Now Chloe's husband's business is booming. Chloe hopes to start a therapy practice in Vallarta. In the meantime, she takes Pilates and salsa dance classes three days a week. She also marvels that she's found a vet for her dogs. "We call him 'Dr. Simpatico,' not only because the dogs like him, but he also grooms them. You'd never find that kind of service in the states."
Jeff and Erica are am attractive young couple who came to Vallarta two years ago from Oregon, where they owned a luxury furniture store. The business was bleeding red ink as the economic crisis in the US worsened. Worry and stress about the future were sapping their spirits and their bank account. Jeff especially felt the pressure. He and Erica had vacationed in Vallarta and had mused, "Why couldn't we live here?"
As things approached critical mass with his business, Jeff made a bold decision. Not telling Erica or their two kids, he purchased a one-way plane ticket to PV and began to lay the groundwork for a permanent move to Mexico. He rented a small apartment and moved in with only the clothes on his back. "It's amazing how your perspective on life and the material world changes when you're sleeping alone on an air mattress in an empty apartment and rinsing out your only shirt to dry on the window sill."
Not long after, Jeff called Erica and told her to pack up the kids and come to Puerto Vallarta. How did Erica feel about Jeff's radical decision? "He's a good man. I knew we needed to do something, and I trusted him." They came with only what they could pack in the car - and neither of them regrets the decision. Both Erica and Jeff have gradually "de-stressed," and their kids are thriving in a more unplugged environment. Erica is connecting socially with the ex-pat community through a women's book club. She's also determined to learn Spanish so she can soak up more Mexican culture.
Jeff has his own business helping Vallarta companies optimize their Websites. But his real love is sailing. He'd taken a couple of sailing lessons back in Oregon. After relocating to PV, he went down to Marina Vallarta to see if anyone would allow him to help out on their boat.
Captain Phil snapped him up and he now serves as an apprentice seaman, helping with the complicated series of pulleys and winches aboard the Brier Patch, and catering to passengers' needs. "Too many people talk about leaving the rat race, but ultimately, talk themselves out of it. It's too bad."
Fortunately, Phil, EJ, Jeff, Erica, Chloe and Katerine are some who've actually taken that leap of faith and are now living the life of their dreams in Puerto Vallarta. At the end of an idyllic day sailing the azure waters of Banderas Bay, "Why not live in Puerto Vallarta?" seems like a rhetorical question, indeed. Perhaps the real question is, Why aren't you living in Puerto Vallarta?
 Roberta Rand is Public Relations Manager for SF Productions TV. She just relocated to Puerto Vallarta from Colorado Springs, Colo, with her dog, Bo. She's worked as a magazine editor, web editor, marketing copywriter, essayist and author, whose book Playing the Tuba at Midnight explored the quirks of living single. |
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