Sailors from United Kingdom dock in Newark, after 32,000 miles
By John Zornow

A call from the Chamber of Commerce at their headquarters at T. Spencer Knight Park indicated there was a special visitor docked there.

Robbie and Su Hart of Essex, United Kingdom, were docked at the canal park for the day and have tales to tell.

The Barbarossa was built by the owners at Benfleet Creek, Essex, when he was 20 and she was 16. The hull is crafted of concrete, and construction took 18 months. The couple married, moved aboard the Barbarossa, and this has been their home for 32 years.

Rob and Su sailed the North Sea and English Channel until their first child arrived in 1982. It was a baby boy, christened 'Sam.' For most young couples it would be time to hunker down, get serious and raise their family. They did settle ... aboard the Barbarossa.

Charlotte was born in 1984, and the family continued with their summer cruises.

As their ready-made crew grew older and stronger, Rob and Su sold off everything they owned except the sailboat, and with Sam, 13 and Charlotte, 11, they set out on what is now a round-the-world trip of five years, 61 days, 32,000 miles, and 47 countries.

The Harts' itinerary, begun in 2005, has taken them from Benfleet Creek to North America via the Canary Islands, up the East Coast of the U.S. to New York, up the Hudson River into the Great Lakes, and eventually will return them to Benfleet. The Hart family has lived their motto: Grab a Chance, Don't be Sorry for a Maybe.

Follow their travels - 

www.barbarossa2008.piczo.com

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