Close to the Surface: A Family Journey at Sea

For years, Bryan and Bethany Lee dreamed of traveling by sailboat in the Pacific Ocean. They spent a decade preparing along with their two young children, and finally, when their kids were in middle school, they crossed the Columbia River Bar and headed south. They survived their first treacherous night in the ocean and sailed under the Golden Gate Bridge, through the Channel Islands of California, and on into Mexico. When their hand-built dinghy went missing on the coast of Baja, they hammered together a new one in a Cabo San Lucas parking spot and carried on with their journey. Again and again, the Lees were welcomed into the lives of those they met on the way and buoyed by the generosity of strangers who became friends. In Close to the Surface, Bethany recounts her family’s story, her own uncertain pilgrimage, and the ingenuity and courage it takes to sail over the horizon and find your way home.