PARENT SPOTLIGHT


MELODIE SCHAFFER

AT SEA, AT LAST

BY LAUREN ALPERN

Melodie Schaffer has always loved to sail. She was a high-performance sailor before she became a biomedical engineer. But she gave up both high-level sailing and her career to go into full-fledged mom mode while she raised her three children: Sierra, Jasper ’18 and Fraser, Class of 2022. Fast forward 20 years and Melodie decided it was time to get back to her first love: being out on the open water. But this time, she has made the leap from regular sailing to offshore sailing. That means that she can go days or even weeks without seeing land. When she told her family that this is what she wanted to do, they were all very supportive. “I spoke with everyone in the family and told them that I’d forgotten who I was and how much I love sailing,” said Melodie, who did her first offshore race in 2018. “I’ve been so busy doing ‘mom’. I need to do ‘me’. My whole family was brilliant with it and told me to go for it. It’s been strange for me to have people know me as Melodie, not as Fraser’s mom or Jasper’s mom.” In January 2020, Melodie left for South Africa to race to Australia as part of the Clipper Round the World race. She flew home for Christmas and then returned to Australia to do the next leg, heading towards China. With her older two kids away at university and Fraser away on an exchange program in France, it was the perfect opportunity to go away for a long race. Unfortunately, COVID changed those plans. The virus was starting to hit China hard in February, and she and her 19 sailing mates on the boat were unable to dock at their planned destination in the country. They eventually ended up in the Philippines, where they were unable to disembark for four days.

“Customs didn’t come to check us in, so we were tied up at the dock along with 10 other boats, but we weren’t allowed to go ashore, and they had the military at the other side of the gate,” said Melodie. “Each day, they would bring us a five-gallon jug of water and we would pass them our garbage, but we couldn't leave! Because we were docked, there weren’t enough beds for everyone, so people ended up sleeping on the deck, on bunks—wherever they could find. Finally, they told us we had to fly out by Friday or we were going to be in lockdown. So we got on a plane and flew home.” While there was no risk of contracting COVID in the middle of the ocean, it still wreaked havoc on her trip. The boat is still in the Philippines, where Melodie will pick it up at the beginning of March, to resume her leg across the Pacific Ocean to Seattle, delayed by two years. Melodie has learned to adapt to all sorts of conditions, both on and off the water. On her Clipper Round the World race, the team worked in three-hour shifts, so they would either be working for three hours or have time below deck to rest. “When you come off watch, you change out of your clothes, go to the bathroom, go lie down and have maybe two and a quarter hours before you have to get back to work. There’s very little time to sleep,” said Melodie. “There are times where I debate: am I going to brush my teeth? Am I going to change my clothes? I need sleep. You pick one thing and that’s what you do. You just adjust to the way of living. If you’re tired, you have to pick and choose.”

Melodie has gotten used to weeks of no sleep, no showers and tic tac breakfasts. She packs for months with two small sacks of gear: two pairs of thermal leggings, three long-sleeve shirts and a couple of sweatshirts. “The conditions are tough, but you learn that you don't really need that much,” said Melodie. “People change their underwear once a week. There are no showers, you take wet wipes and you don’t wash your hair. It ends up being alright. I guess it’s just being out in the open air. There’s no issue as far as cleanliness goes.” Her youngest son, Fraser, isn’t surprised at his mother’s toughness and adaptability. “Really, she’s one of the heartiest people I know, so the fact that she’s okay with the conditions and is voluntarily putting herself through it doesn’t surprise me. And getting up every three hours is just like having little kids,” said Fraser. “We've always sailed as a family, but with her moving to offshore sailing, this is pretty much who I imagined her to be: this super hearty sailor who can do anything she puts her mind to.” Melodie’s daughter, Sierra, who is studying pediatric medicine at St. George’s University of London, England, is so proud of her mother for following her passion.

“It’s such a good role model when you can find your passion and follow it with so much energy and determination. She is incredibly kind and so competitive, has a lot of tenacity and is really passionate about it,” said Sierra. “She loves sailing so much, and you see that she comes alive when she’s on the ocean.” Melodie does love the ocean. Despite being away from her family and only being able to communicate with them via scarce emails or brief phone calls from the middle of the ocean, it truly brings her joy. “It’s magical. It’s brutally hard and absolutely magical as well,” said Melodie. “There’s something sort of mesmerizing when you’re out on the ocean. It’s the ongoing infinity. You look and there's nothing to see. You're part of this infinity and it captivates you.” So what’s next for Melodie? She has teamed up with fellow Canadian Ryan Barkey for a double-handed sailing race around the world, the Globe 40. It will be a tough haul against the world’s most elite sailors. And with only the two of them, the conditions will be even more difficult. No doubt with Melodie’s passion and determination, only another global pandemic will prevent her from finishing this race. Follow her story on Instagram at @whiskeyjack128

Student Spotlight: Marten & Alex Ling '22