Cruising with the Melvins
- wanderwisdomws
- Mar 29, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 25, 2025
We had the privilege of interviewing Tiffany, an inspiring mother of two boys who are on an epic sailing adventure. To get a glimpse of world schooling on a boat, read full interview below.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your family?
We are the Melvin family. Tiffany, Jimbo, Chandler, and Sailor and we currently live on our sailboat. The boys are 8 and 10 years old. My husband and I have been married for 12 years. Our boat is a Beneteau Oceanis 500. We just finished 2 months in the Bahamas and are now in Turks and Caicos and then on to Dominican Republic.
Do you work online? Do you have an online business? How do you fund your worldschooling lifestyle?
When we were back home I was a stay at home mom homeschooling our boys and my husband had a commercial landscaping business. My husband sold his business and that's how we bought our current boat and our funding our travels for now. But we will have to figure out more income if we want to keep going long term. We are trying to work on some ideas now.
What made you begin your world school journey? What does world schooling mean to you and your children?
We are a Christian family and really wanted to show our kids the world. We wanted them to have a good world view and not just a view from our tiny southern town. We wanted them to experience other cultures and see all the beauty and differences God created through out the world.
Have you tried any education hubs, homeschooling groups, online schools or any alternative/government schools whilst on your travels?
We have not yet but plan to. We are going to try out a worldschooling group in the Dominican Republic I hope. That will be our first time. I think we will really like it.
What does a typical day look like for your family?
We sometimes do a little book work in the morning and then spend our afternoons doing water activities and exploring wherever we are. We like to snorkel, spearfish, surf, dive and so on. We of course love exploring the places we are and getting to know the community. We have met people from all over the world and still keep contact with them on social medias.
What struggles have you encountered in your relocation or travels?
The only downside to me is missing our family and friends. We miss a lot of milestones we would typically be there for like baby showers and weddings. Its just not feasible on our budget to fly back for everything we would like to. Also of course sometimes dealing with immigration and custom stuff can get old but it's just part of the lifestyle.
What have your children learnt or experienced from their relocation or travels that you don't think they would have if your family hadn't moved abroad?
I think our boys have learned to adapt and go with the flow. Since we do more so often they have to get use to that and I think they have. We try our best to prioritize friendships for them. There are a lot of other families doing the cruising lifestyle so we typically meet up with them for playdate and hang outs. We also love meeting locals.
Which has been your favorite place so far?
I think the Bahamas will always have a special place in our hearts. We have cruised there many times and love the people and community. We also had our honeymoon there and we just love it. Its one of the best "crusing grounds" in the world and we are so lucky to have gotten to experience it so much. The only negative is how expensive it is. I think my next new favorite place will be a more affordable one.
Is there something that would make you or your childrens worldschooling experience better?
I think joining the hubs and doing more with the worldschooling community and not necessarily just the crusing community will add to our experience. As I mentioned before we do plan to start doing that and we are looking forward to meeting families like us who also think outside the box when it comes to schooling. The traditional schooling just wasn't a fit for us and I'm glad we chose to home educate from the very beginning.
You can follow Adventure with the Melvins on Youtube and Tiktok and learn more about their journey in sea and on land with their two boys.
Comments