Commerce Township couple rides out Hurricane Sandy then spend Christmas at sea

COMMERCE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) - When we last saw Mary and Jeff Pernick of Commerce Township they were hunkered down aboard their 47-foot sailboat off the coast of Virginia as Hurricane Sandy barreled toward them.

“We couldn’t stop looking at it.” Mary says three weeks later.  “We were still being pelted with wind and rain just watching everything we could about what was happening north of us. It was incredible.”

With almost a week’s warning they had found shelter in a tiny basin in Portsmouth Virginia.  When the storm hit to their north, the wind howled  and the water in their basin rose nearly 8 feet

“It went very well for us for a few reasons.” Jeff recalls. “One is that we’d had all this prep time and were able to get the boat very secure and safe.”

After the storm, the Pernicks continued their journey south, which is a story in itself.

Last spring, they sold everything including their home and left Lake St. Clair with only a vague plan of where they’re going.

“Its kind of not a journey,” Jeff explains. “We live in our home and sometimes its not like the home moves its like we live in this home that the earth moves underneath and the home is in a different place every once in a while.”

For Jeff and Mary it is a journey of discovery. But they know its tough on their families, having them gone, especially this time of year. But that’s part of this journey

"If all goes according to our very vague plan we’ll be anchored somewhere in the Bahamas and my home would be that we’re anchored somewhere where no one else is and for the first time in forever we’ll just have Christmas with ourselves," Jeff says.

You can follow Jeff and Mary’s journey here .