living on a sailboat in Fiji & turning 21

Aboard a 54-foot catamaran anchored in the waters of Fiji, Jadyn Morse marks her 21st birthday after reuniting with cruising friends she first met 3 years earlier in the Caribbean. With over 300 islands scattered across the South Pacific archipelago, the planned itinerary involved voyaging through island anchorages before sailing onward toward New Caledonia. The reunion brought together sailors whose paths previously intersected halfway across the globe, as the catamaran crew had transited the Panama Canal, crossed the Pacific Ocean, and visited French Polynesia before dropping anchor in Fiji.

The Pacific passage arrived during an intense season of international travel. Starting in May, Jadyn hosted three sailing retreats back-to-back across Martinique and Greece before traveling to Kenya for a mission trip. After a brief two-week stay on a sailboat in French Polynesia, she returned home with less than 24 hours to spare before flying to Alaska. Alongside her boyfriend Bryce and friends riding motorcycles, she completed a 3,000-mile overland drive in two truck campers through remote stretches of the Yukon and down to California. With Bryce subsequently departing for India and Nepal to hike in the Himalayas, Jadyn journeyed to Fiji to spend time afloat in the South Pacific.

Morning Cinnamon Rolls and Boat Workout

The birthday morning aboard the catamaran began in the galley, where crewmate Rochelle baked a batch of homemade cinnamon rolls topped with frosting. Reflecting on the milestone while looking out over the water, Jadyn weighed the passage of time against her growing professional responsibilities afloat: “Do I feel older? No, I still feel like I’m 15.”

Following breakfast, the crew assembled on deck for a morning physical fitness routine. Drawing on exercise habits developed while living on her family sailboat, Jadyn selected four to five exercises repeated through three or four rounds. Structured training remains a critical discipline during extended periods on the water, countering the physical inactivity common to life at anchor: “On a boat it’s really easy to become very sedentary and sometimes you don’t even get off the boat during the day so you’re not getting a lot of steps in and movement.” After completing the final circuit, the crew jumped into the ocean water to cool off before preparing for a shoreside trek.

Coral Scramble and Summiting the Peak

The primary excursion for the day was a hike to summit a prominent mountain peak overlooking the bay. Ocean conditions dictated an immediate tactical adjustment at the anchorage. “The swell was pretty big this day, so we couldn’t take the dinghy,” Jadyn explained. So rather than risking an outboard landing through breaking chop, the crew launched stand-up paddle boards to paddle across to the sand.

Two brothers cruising aboard another sailboat from Pennsylvania joined the party for the ascent. Upon reaching the shore, the group scrambled across exposed coral rock formations to reach an adjacent beach connecting to the base of the trail. The route climbed steeply through the hillside, requiring hands-on scrambling across rocky sections before topping out on the mountain summit. The high ridge provided a complete bird’s-eye view of the double-sided beach, surrounding barrier coral reefs, and the 54-foot catamaran anchored in the turquoise bay below.

Anchorage Milestones from Grenada to Fiji

By 5:00 p.m., the hiking party returned across the rocks, paddled back to the catamaran, and gathered in the cockpit where lunch and celebratory cocktails were prepared. The gathering highlighted how sailing milestones often mirror personal anniversaries in remote parts of the globe. Jadyn reflected on celebrating her 18th birthday while anchored in Grenada with her family, comparing that Caribbean memory to turning 21 in Fiji surrounded by old friends and new cruising companions. The day concluded around the table with dinner, brownies, and an evening dance party on deck.

Voyage Logistics and the Sailboat Fund

While the original voyage plan called for living aboard the catamaran for over a month—sailing onward toward New Caledonia prior to an October 21st flight back to Idaho—changing circumstances prompted an early pivot. Jadyn addressed the emotional realities of shared vessel living and extended travel schedules: “I originally thought I was going to be on their sailboat for a month, go to all these cool places, and do the volcano hike. But you know what happened? I just got really homesick.” Having submitted an apartment application in Idaho before flying to Fiji, she received word during the trip that her application had been accepted, providing a dedicated land base between maritime assignments. Weeks later, she learned that the catamaran was unable to secure entry into their planned port, underscoring the unpredictable nature of Pacific cruising logistics.

With her final sailing retreat of the year scheduled for November 7th, Jadyn also shared a progress report on her long-term ambition of purchasing an offshore vessel debt-free. Supported by online media production, her dedicated financial goal had advanced significantly ahead of schedule. “I’m like 75% saved with the amount that I wanted in the beginning, which was $50,000,” she announced. Achieving three-quarters of the $50,000 savings benchmark in less than a year positions her well along the path toward acquiring an expedition boat.

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