The Phillips family had to drop anchor and drop plans to circumnavigate the world after Covid restrictions stranded them in Samoa. So, after eight years of living on a 53-ft., 28-ton sailboat, they sold their boat and searched for a home in the states. House deals in West Virginia, Georgia, and Holiday Island fell through before they found the home of their dreams in Eureka Springs.
“We bought the house sight unseen,” Abraham Phillips said. “This is our forever home. My Irish wife, Susan, and our children, Cian, 16, and Saoirse, 10, are very social, so Eureka is the perfect place for us. Our house here is just a seven-minute walk to the heart of town with great restaurants and entertainment.
“We live on the side of a mountain where we have woods and some privacy, and then can just walk downtown for a great nightlife. We like the special events and hearing the bands at night. Our neighbors are unique, interesting people from all walks of life. The Eureka schools are just brilliant. Our daughter Saoirse has made a lot of friends there and loves her teachers.”
Saoirse had spent her entire life living on a boat, and Cian took on adult responsibilities during those years at sea, including standing watch and keeping the family safe during foul weather. By age 14, he was standing watch alone keeping the boat on track while the others caught up on sleep.
“It is an adult’s work,” Abraham said. “If you make a mistake, you can die.”
Susan and Abraham met online about 20 years ago. Three days after he came to Ireland to meet her in person, they were engaged. Abraham wanted an Irish wife and to live on a sailboat. Despite having no previous sailing experience, they sold their house in California to purchase a sailing vessel.
“So, all of the sudden, we live on a boat, which is totally new to us,” Abraham said. “We stayed at the dock for a few months before we started practicing anchoring and sailing across Monterey Bay. The storms off the Big Sur coast are the roughest weather we ever encountered. I threw our family into large waves to teach us and make sure we could handle whatever we encountered 1,000 miles out. My wife and I would be constantly throwing up in swells, but we were determined we weren’t going to let that stop us. No matter how sick we got, we kept fighting.”
Adversity can be a great teacher. Abraham said you can take a lot of sailing lessons, but nothing teaches you more than encountering bad weather that knocks you all around and tests your endurance.
“Every time you make it through the bad stuff, it makes you a better sailor,” Abraham said. “Sometimes you have to wait months for the right weather. Bad weather makes you watch weather windows better the next time. It is a rough life. It can be exhausting. It took four hours a day just to maintain my boat.”
A book could be written about the family’s many adventures. One night their cat, Fletch, jumped out of a port window they kept open for air. Abraham almost jumped in the very cold water to rescue the cat before his wife warned him that would be too dangerous. He was able to reach out, pull the cat up, and wash it under warm water.
Sea lions are loved by tourists, but sailors, not so much. One time they had more than 100 sea lions on the dock including three 700-pound bulls. In addition to deploying paint guns, it was necessary to physically charge the bulls.
“They only respect alphas,” Abraham said. “Bulls won’t move unless you come at them like you are going to punch them. You have to go at them aggressively until they finally respond and fall off the dock, and beta sea lions will fall off with them.”
The couple took a few years to prepare to cross the Pacific. They added more sails, mounted a black powder cannon, installed a new engine, and stocked up on supplies.
“We built it into the tall ship we wanted,” Abraham said. “Leaving for the Pacific with the boat stuffed to the gills for circumnavigating, we encountered 80 knot winds in Morro Bay. Then our new engine died off the coast of Mexico. We went for thirty-four days at sea crossing the Pacific without seeing anyone and with our engine cut off. We couldn’t retreat to Mexico or California. With no engine, we came into the harbors at Nuku Hiva and Tahiti, under sail, which is very difficult to do.”
Abraham was not afraid even of 25-ft. seas. But when his wife, a nurse, had to return to California because of visa issues, it was frightening because there was no medical help available if needed. There were dangers faced in Nuku Hiva, such as Saoirse swimming with six black tip sharks and Abraham getting attacked by a stingray and a swarm of jellyfish.
The family sailed 10 more days to Samoa without having a nurse. A stop on their way was Suwarrow Island, which had been abandoned by the immigration official. “There was no one to report to, which is not good when you are out there,” he said. “There were also coconut crabs the size of medium dogs who were not afraid of people.”
Coming into Samoa, they were greeted by a man giving them all kinds of unsolicited advice. Abraham didn’t have a good feeling about the man and didn’t invite him on board. He turned out to be accused of murdering his wife in Tonga, and had escaped to Samoa where he was not extradited.
“We were in a kind of pirate harbor,” Abraham said.
Then Covid hit and Samoa was on lockdown. Abraham became ill with walking pneumonia the final two months they were there. His wife prescribed antibiotics over the phone from their medical kit, and he thinks that saved him.
After a year and half in Samoa, they had to let the boat go in a fire sale. They couldn’t get the money the boat was worth. “It was a painful end for us,” he said. “The uplifting part is while we were stuck in Silicon Valley because of Covid, we stumbled on Eureka Springs.”
While the family enjoyed their life at sea, they say they are every bit as happy in Eureka Springs as at some beautiful Pacific Island.
“There are people who spend years planning a vacation to Eureka Springs,” he said. “You lose sight of that.”