In October 1993 the Ridgways closed their school of adventure and left their croft on the west coast of Scotland to embark on an 18-month adventure voyage to the Pacific and back in their yacht, the "English Rose VI". This is the story of one family's dream to "get away from it all". It tells how John Ridgway, his wife Marie Christine, their daughter Rebecca and their adopted Quechua Indian daughter Elizabeth decided to weather violent storms, tempestuous arguments and everyday domestic life against a backdrop of not-so-ordinary locations: an Atlantic crossing; the Caribbean; the Panama Canal; the South Sea Islands; South America (including a trip to Peru where Elizabeth has a moving reunion with her family); and Antactica....