Allison is far from a sailor. Equestrian? Absolutely. Missionary? Yep. COO for budding start-ups? Double yes.  But Sailor? Heck to the no.

I was firmly landlocked and planted until May 2014. Then the handsome Captain you see below captivated my attention and suddenly sailing became a thing. A thing I thought that maybe I could enjoy.  See, I grew up boating, loved water and water sports, but had never spent any time on a sailboat. (Unless you count one random Christmas sail in CA, which I don’t…)

Bo introduced me to the wonderful world of sailing during the summer of 2014 and I fell in love. With him and his sailboat. It was a package deal kind of thing, so I didn’t have too many options. Before we dated I knew Bo had it in his heart to sail around the world and I was his biggest cheerleader. I spent a few years traveling the world myself and couldn’t be more excited for him to meet amazing people, eat crazy foods and have his heart and mind expanded in ways that only traveling can do. I just had no idea when I was doing all that cheerleading that I would be going with him.

As a 20 year old, I left college for a semester to go sailing. I’d never done much sailing before, and what sailing I had done was on lakes. For 8 months I lived aboard a 25′ sailboat and sailed alone from Alabama to Key West, Florida.

When I returned to college that fall, I made myself a promise. If I turned 28 and wasn’t married with kids and a house and all that, then I would go sailing again. But this time, it’d be around the world.

Remembering this years later, in 2011, I called up my boss on my 27th birthday and explained I was quitting to pursue #31 on my bucket list—sail around the world. Had you asked me then when I would begin the trip, I naively would have told you “about a year and a half.”

A few years have since past, and in the meantime I’ve been able to take advantage of several incredible opportunities personally.

I graduated from the University of Georgia in 2005, and after a brief stint at the Atlanta Braves Radio Network, I pursued a career in video production. I was fortunate to find a role with a videoboard company based in South Dakota, Daktronics Inc., where I developed a specialty in videoboard production.

I’ve worked mainly in live events, building a resume that includes clients such as The Today Show, the Carolina Panthers, San Diego Padres, Golden State Warriors, Colorado Rockies, Stanford Cardinal, Oklahoma Sooners, Auburn Tigers, and countless events including The Final Four, two BCS National Championship Games, SEC Basketball & Baseball Tournaments, Super Bowl XLVII, and the 2014 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi. In 2016, I’ll work as the venue producer for the sailing events at the 2016 Olympic Summer Games in Rio.