Meet the Evans Family

Brett:

Brett Evans, or Brevens for short, is a diamond in the rough. Serious gold. Platinum. And any other metaphor or adjective that expresses an overwhelming feeling of “wow.” I’m biased I know, but I do mean it. Barrette is the best.

Okay I should probably write actual bio stuff… here it goes! Brett’s an adventurer and an explorer and starts to feel antsy if he spends too much time inside. He loves rock climbing, trail running, backpacking and probably any other mountainous activity you can think of. His favorite place is REI. Growing up he spent a lot of time on the lake and is a very impressive water skier. We both have family connections to Hawaii and he spent his summer breaks during college on Oahu where he developed a love for paddle boarding.

He works professionally as a pilot, which makes sense because he has ALWAYS loved airplanes. His favorite childhood memories are the mornings when his dad would wake up early and take him to fly RC planes at the park. Brett also loves to build things….and take them apart. Once when he was three his mom came into the kitchen to find that he had partially disassembled the oven door. Years later when we were fresh newlyweds I walked through our apartment door to find Brett sitting with our computer in pieces, littering the living room floor. I learned a lot about him when he looked back at me, shrugged, and said “I’m making it better."

His first major in college was Aerospace Engineering, a nice meld of his two passions. He was nearly finished when he decided he’d rather spend his working days on the flight deck and his weekends building his own projects. So, he switched majors to something with a really long title that I can never remember but basically means “I have a degree in Pilot” and concurrently completed flight school.

Sailing and flying have a decent amount of overlap. I’m not sure if it’s the physics and aerodynamics or if it’s the personality type but sailing comes naturally to Brett. He loves harnessing the wind and seeing where it will take him.

Jade:

I loved it, but now that I finished my Bachelor’s of Fine Arts degree, I’m ready to pursue my real passion of studio arts. Ideas and inspirations constantly weave through my mind. My sketchbooks burst with them. Since everything is on hold for the duration of the sailboat refit, I am quite motivated to get on the water and resume my artistic endeavors. I’m particularly excited to explore a certain concept in a painting series—stay tuned for that.

My momma raised me and my four sisters. These days in a counterproductive feminist fever, people question what “all that feminine energy” felt like. I never know how to respond. Uh, like growing up in the suburbs, I guess? For us, that was life. We fixed our own plumbing, built our own treehouses, killed our own bugs, and never thought anything of it. I grew up in a reality where no one reminded me that ‘I could do anything’ because of course I could, we all could and we did.

My father was a sculptor and I inherited his artistic fever. He passed when I was an infant and it has always been my main connection to him. I love to create in any form but particularly sculpture and painting. I worked as a photographer throughout my college tenure. It was a wonderful way to explore artistic concepts while also paying my way through school.

I love water. There is something about being suspended, weightless, surrounded by it. My mind moves quickly, I don’t know any other way to describe it, but when I’m under water, it slows down. Everything is dampened and calm and slow. I think that is where the attraction comes from. It’s a respite for me. and I moved from my home in Arizona to Hawaii on my 18th birthday. I love to sail, to dive, to float. I feel most at home with the ocean.

I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease about a year ago. I don't like writing that into my bio because I'm not particularly happy about the situation. But it is a part of my life now. A lot of my time these days goes to navigating and adjusting and a lot of my emotional energy goes to managing the chronic pain and fatigue. Ironically, it is getting easier as it gets worse.

I'm looking forward to sailing, to traveling and to seeing new and beautiful places. Most of all, I'm looking forward to meeting new cultures head on. New people with old traditions excite me. I like to learn. I like to challenge everything I think I know and I hope our circumnavigation brings a lot of that. Also a lot of tropical fruits and fresh fish because I really appreciate good food :)