Gene Mim Mack and Robbie Springs both grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, but did not meet until years later in Anchorage, Alaska. Gene did many things in Alaska, including home construction, cross-country ski trail making, caring for a remote property across Kachemak Bay from Homer, and building and running the Groundworks Psychotherapy Center.

Robbie worked in restaurants, at the local newspaper, home construction and produced fine art. Shortly after leaving Alaska the pair made the choice of leaving the land behind and sailing off in the Pacific. In 1995, they purchased a 35-foot cutter rigged sailboat in Seattle, Washington and sailed down the coast to San Francisco. After completing the outfitting of the boat, they set sail for L.A., then across the Pacific. It took 25 days to get to the island of Nuka Hiva, French Polynesia.

In the following 5 months they island-hopped through the world's most remote and romantic island groups. Tahiti & French Polynesia, Cook Islands, American and Western Samoa, Tong and finally New Zealand. There they were surprised by a new crew member, Alison. Alison was born in Takapuna, New Zealand just north of Auckland in September of 1997. They traded in their 35-foot boat for a 60-foot boat with plenty of accommodations for baby and visitors. With Alison just 7 months old, and a total crew of 4, they set sail for Fiji. After a rough 10 days, they arrived in Fiji, the adults relieved to stop moving and Alison happily showing off her newly acquired skill of crawling up the companionway stairs!

After visiting Fiji, they sailed to Vanuatu, then New Caledonia, and finally Brisbane, Australia. they traveled down the coast to Sydney, oneof the most beautiful harbors in the world, and then back up to the little town on Yamba, that was to become their Ozzie home away from home over the next several years.

The next year they took the boat down to Tasmania, where they ate abalone, crayfish, and scallops that they caught themselves as they visited some of the best cold water sailing destinations in the Southern Hemisphere. After Tasmania, they sailedback up to the tropics, spending more time exploring New Caledonia and Vanuatu.

It was in northern Vanuatu that they discovered a small community of a beautiful, protected bay called Asanvari. It was love at first sight. Friendly people, a gorgeous waterfall, and a lovely sand beach perfect for a 3-year-old. After spending several weeks there, they saw the need to help the school with supplies. So they returned the next year with paper, pencils, educational books and tables.

That year the village water system was leaking so badly, there wasn't any water making it to the end of the pipe. After a 60-mile trip by boat to the nearest hardware store, Gene fixed the pipe, the pressure got better, but even more leaks showed up. During this process, a local official visited Asanvari and suggested that they go the Capital, port Vila, on an island 150 miles away, and apply for a grant to fix the water system.

So Gene, Robbie and Alison became the volunteer Asanvari Peace Corp writing three grants for the people of Asanvari, submitting them to the foreign aid departments of Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. After returning once again to Australia for cyclone season, they found out all three proposals were funded! With about two months of gathering supplies in Australia, they sailed back to Vanuatu, and over the course of six months built three structures with the help of the villagers. A women's handicraft center, a small bungalow for visitors to stay in and a large restaurant building all made out of locally harvested timber, bamboo and palm leaf were built. The water system was built by the local government Department for Rural Water Supplies.

After six months of nonstop work in Vanuatu, they returned again to Australia for the summer where they realized it was time for a change. Leaving the boat in Australia, they returned to the US looking for a new adventure. After a long search, they found the Stevensville Hotel, and the rest of the story is still to come...