Sail For A Cure!

At a certain moment in our lives we hit that point: that point when we realize the stories we tell from day to day are no longer exciting to hear, even to ourselves. We, Will Daniels and Sam Fifer, who have been friends and sailors our whole lives, have reached that point, and have decided that it’s time to do something about it. We are ready to embark on a new adventure, to create new and exciting stories that we will be able to tell for years and years to come. What better way to create a life story then deciding to sail around the world?


Since the beginning of July, we have been hatching a plan, one that will give us both the thrill of adventure and the opportunity to make a difference in the world, and we need your help. We will attempt to circumnavigate the globe on a 32-foot C&C sailboat known as Tilikum. This voyage will take Tilikum and us more than 40,000 km over 3 years. We plan to start this journey in November of this year, so we don’t have much time!

For the first leg we will leave the cold rocky coast of Nova Scotia and head for the crystal clear warm waters of the Caribbean via Bermuda. There we will hover, picking up odd jobs and refitting the boat, waiting until March to head to the Panama Canal. From there our plans are to head to Chile, then to Easter Island, The Pitcairn Islands, French Polynesia, and then on Fiji.

But, you might be thinking, what makes our trip unique? We have decided to dedicate this trip to raise awareness and funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. JDRF’s goal is to “progressively remove the impact of Type 1 diabetes (T1D) from people’s lives until we achieve a world without Type 1 Diabetes.” This cause matters a lot to us because our own Sam Fifer was been living with Type 1 Diabetes since he was 11 years old.

Although we are so excited about this trip that we’d love to leave tomorrow, we know that there is a lot we need to do in terms of planning and preparation. Most importantly, we need to acquire appropriate safety equipment, and this is where you come in.

When setting out on a bluewater voyage, there are many necessary items that a seaworthy vessel and crew require, such as a life raft, immersion suits, a radar and radar reflector, an EPIRB, a chart plotter, Auto pilot, foul weather gear, handheld radio, spare standing and running rigging, tethers and harnesses. We need your financial help in order to buy these necessities, which add up to approximately $12, 000. To our family and friends, please help us make this dream a reality. We are hoping that through your generosity, we will exceed our goal of $12,000. And therefore be able to donate to JDRF as well.

Once we are on our way, we will be blogging and vlogging throughout our journey, and will continue to fundraise for JDRF for the entirety of our 3-year venture. We hope you choose to donate towards our trip and our cause. Your support over the course of our voyage will keep us motivated to circumnavigate the globe. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Captain Will Daniels

Captain Sam Fifer

AKA Team Tilikum
Will & Sam