MAKING WAVES

Boaters on a 10,000mile tour on an Aspen C120 Catamaran named

How did this whole journey come about?

DJ: My family took a cruise through Alaska several years ago, and it was great, but the whole time I kept wishing I could get off the boat so I could experience more. As I started researching boats, I really liked what Aspen and owner Larry Graf were doing. I reached out, and we started putting this together.

BE: I came on as the captain because David didn’t have a captain’s license. Being that we were brothers-in-law, it made sense that I’d be on board to help.

What’s been your favorite part so far?

DJ: Whenever my wife, Sue Ellen, is on board.

BE: I’d never been to Alaska before, and the weather was bad, but the scenery is just incredible.

What about the craziest thing you’ve seen so far?

DJ: We were cruising through the Gulf, and we somehow hit a shark.

BE: I didn’t see it — I must’ve been looking at a chart or something — but I felt it, and then I heard David screaming. DJ: I couldn’t believe it. I was on the phone and looking out at the water. I see what I know is a shark, and we’re headed right for it. I started screaming, “We’re gonna hit that shark!”

If you’re supposed to keep your friends close and your enemies closer, where are you supposed to keep family? For brothers-in-law David Jenkins and Blake Eder, the answer was as close as possible. For most of 10,000 nautical miles from Alaska to Maryland, the two have shared the extra-close confines of a 40-foot powercat. We met up with the duo as they crossed Florida via the Okeechobee Waterway. —Garrett Cortese