Page 82 - Cityview_Jan_Feb_2014

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By Sarah H.

the nearest land. Each and every time,

however, their crew stuck together and
Their long journey behind them, Trey and Amy
pulled through, proving their resilience
Benefield look back on good times and bad, lessons and determination again and again.

learned, and the experience of a lifetime.
They both also still seem a bit amazed
that their father and daughter team held

together as well as it did. “I think we re- on october 15, 2013, Trey Benefield’s without hesitation, they would take the
journey halfway around the world trip again. “I would do things differently,
ally got to know each other a lot better,”
says Trey. “We got along better when it ended as he sailed into the harbor at because of what I know now,” says Trey.

was just the two of us on the boat,” adds Moreton Bay near Brisbane, Australia. “For instance, I definitely won’t take a
Amy. Surrounded by nothing but the His last passage, from Tonga to Austra- bike on a boat ever again. But this has

sea and their boat, the adventurous two lia, had taken about two weeks. With been a lifelong dream.”
found themselves in harmony.
Amy already back in Knoxville, and When asked what the best day of the

For the Benefields, it’s good to be accompanied only by Nathan Creamer, trip was for each of them, Amy pointed
to the night when she, Trey, and their
home, but there are a few adjustments a Virginian boat manager who needed a
to make, as well. “By far, the strang-
ride to Australia to pick up some parts, crewmembers at the time, Chuck Flett

est thing is going into an American Trey had plenty of time to reflect on the and ofri Moran, leaped into a phos-
store. The volume and array of goods
year he had spent at sea—and what the phorescent glowing ocean, lit by algae,

is staggering. I have more groceries in future had to hold.
off the coast of Panama. For Trey, it’s
Cityview caught up with the intrepid harder to pick a single day or event. He
my kitchen pantry than I could find at
the main store in a Tongan town,” says father-daughter pair to ask about the loved getting to know the Fijians and

Trey. He also points out that it’s been a best parts of their voyage, the worst Tongans, and experiencing the differ-
long time since he was expected to wear days, and how they’re re-adjusting to ent cultures, languages, and cuisines of

shoes all the time—or at all.
Knoxville.
the Pacific islands. His favorite part of
Both Trey and Amy have a certain each day, he says, was taking the early
Currently, Amy is enrolled at the
university of Tennessee for the spring amount of regrets associated with their morning shift on deck to relax, reflect,

semester. She’s now pursuing a Biology voyage—places they missed out on and watch the sun rise over the endless
major, inspired by the diversity she saw seeing, or time that felt wasted repair- water surrounding him.

along the way. “I still don’t know what ing their boat instead of pursuing more Long passages and stretches of bad
I’m going to do with my life,” she says, adventures—but both of them say that
weather, the Benefields agree, were the

“but this is a start.” Trey, in the mean- least pleasant parts of the trip—along
with the passage where Amy became
time, is recuperating—and learning to
wear shoes again—as well as consider- very sick a week and a half ’s sail from

ing a number of options for future activ-
ity and employment. Most of all, he’s

grateful for the friends and family who

helped his dream come true, and for the
trip that helped him find balance again,

centering himself in who he really is.

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cityviewmag.com
january february 2014

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