CEDAR FALLS -- "I never dreamed I'd sail anywhere."

There's a good chance Lisa Britzman ate those words and spit them out, one by one, somewhere in the South Pacific.

Britzman, a Cedar Falls native, hadn't planned to sail the world. But as happens frequently in life, plans change.

A 1978 graduate of Cedar Falls High School, Britzman studied geology, cartography, biology and art at the University of Northern Iowa. After graduation, she took a job in Colorado helping develop maps for the U.S. Geological Survey. A transfer took her to Seattle, changing not only her career goals, but her life.

It was there that she met her husband, David Peck, a civil engineer with a sailing hobby. He had always dreamed of owning a boat and sailing the world.

"He was without a boat when I met him," Britzman said. "When his parents passed away, he said, 'Life's too short.'"

The couple sold most of their belongings, stored the rest and shifted gears toward a new life.

They spent $80,000 on a 43-foot boat and sailed to California with their cat, Dewey. There they spent months preparing the vessel for several years at sea. The boat, christened "The Francis" after Peck's father, was outfitted with an auto-pilot mechanism, numerous sails, safety equipment, a global positioning system, a system that converts salt water to drinking water and a solar energy system. The improvements cost between $50,000-$60,000.

While in California, the couple recruited two extra crew members to accompany them. Two sets of hands would not be enough.

"Someone has to be awake at all times," Britzman explained.

Britzman has chronicled their journey in an online journal, complete with photos.

August 26 and 27, 1999

… I was very nervous as we headed out to the Pacific Ocean, for I knew that this was the beginning of the all night watches and I wasn't sure I was ready for that! … It's hard to believe this is my life now as we head off on our big adventure down the coast.

The group set off from the California coast, cruising through the South Pacific. Over three years they sailed, stopping at the tropical ports of Marquesas, Fiji, Bora Bora, Western Samoa, New Caledonia and others.

While Britzman enjoyed life at sea, it wasn't always smooth sailing.

"We hit a few bad storms near the equator. There were a few times I would get scared," she said. "I didn't realize how well the boat could handle the water."

Still, choppy seas made for plenty of seasickness and challenging life aboard the vessel.

April 19 and 20, 2000

… We had always heard and read that once you reached the trade winds it was smooth sailing. Well the huge swell is hitting us on the stern port side and rolls us from side to side. It makes maneuvering around the boat very interesting and sleeping very difficult. …We are slowly learning to time every movement with the swell so we don't get beat up too bad. You constantly have to be hanging on to something or you go flying across the boat to land on something usually not soft. … Cooking is another story. You can't set anything down unless it is held down by something else or it goes flying across the counter. We have special tools that hold our pots and pans on the stove while we try to cook. … All this constant rolling back and forth from port to starboard is not making (crew member) Markus or I feel very good. … If you don't hear from us very often it's because I'm too seasick to write in this computer. …

Along the way, the crew of The Francis met with other sailing enthusiasts. They fast became members of a traveling community of 50-100 boats.

"The one thing I learned about sailing -- it is the great equalizer. There were people who were doing it on a 28-foot boat with barely enough money to eat and hoping each day to catch their meals. (Then there were) multimillionaires who had all the fanciest equipment money could buy plus paid crew to get them from place to place. … We were somewhere in the middle. But the great thing was we all shared the same anchorages, experienced many of the same things and all became great friends, for the sea bonded us as one."

Britzman and crew made it to Australia, where they sailed up and down the Great Barrier Reef. They had intended to keep going, to circumnavigate the globe. Then 9/11 happened, followed by the Iraq war.

"Our insurance company said they wouldn't insure us to keep going because we'd be entering a dangerous part of the world," Britzman said.

So they docked in Australia, where they've been ever since.

Britzman took an environmental position with the Queensland Department of Public Works, and Peck is employed once again as a civil engineer. They live on their boat in a marina.

The couple are going through the immigration process, and should be full Australian citizens by June or July.

Britzman's family in Cedar Falls kept tabs on her through her online journal.

"When Lisa and David told us of their plans we were scared to death and excited at the same time for them," said her mom, Sharon Britzman. "When we realized how well prepared they were for all situations, it helped us to relax a little. I actually got a map of the Pacific Ocean and marked their route as Lisa sent the longitude and latitude readings every few days.

"We are proud of their accomplishments and their spirit. They're having a great adventure, one that most of us only dream about."

Contact Meta Hemenway-Forbes at (319) 291-1483 or meta.hemenway-forbes@wcfcourier.com.