CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Winter of 1999 was an exciting time for Rick and Suza Goltz. They were newlyweds, early-retirees, and about to take the trip of a lifetime.
On January 2, 1999 the couple, along with their two cats, set sail from Cape Canaveral on their 44-foot sailboat called the Voyager.
"We left Florida and spent the first year going down the eastern Caribbean, island hopping down to Trinidad," said Rick.
They knew they weren't ready to go through the Panama Canal, so they headed towards the western Caribbean. A year later they came back down to Panama and went through, making stops at the Galapagos and Marquesas Islands.
"It's very hard for us to open up any island magazine and not say that we've been because we have pretty much hit every single one between the two tropics," said Suza.
After passing through the Marshall Islands and the Philippines, the Goltz's trekked up the west coast of India to Mumbai. After getting to Thailand they knew they had gone too far.
"We got to Thailand and we realized we were too far. We were too far from family and friends and we just said it's time to come home," said Suza.
So, they headed back east. Sailing around South Africa and up the east coast of Brazil, eventually docking at the Harbortown Marina 14 and half years and 52,000 nautical miles later.
They had made their dream of sailing around the world, a reality.
When asked if they would do it again, Rick replied with, "I wouldn't give up the memories for anything, but I'd never do it again. You're talking to somebody who is a little tired of it right now."
Now that the Goltz's are back, they plan on selling the boat and starting a new adventure, this one on dry land.