Before settling down to have a family, Christi Grab had always wanted to travel the world and write about it. Her husband, Eric, always wanted a boat. Together, the Point Loma couple was able to realize their dreams, circumnavigating the globe in a 43-foot motorboat as they traveled to tucked-away places around the world. It’s a feat only a handful of people have ever accomplished in such a small craft, Christi said. “It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be … What it was like at sea and how difficult it was to cope,” she said. With only three days of experience at sea, the Grabs and a close friend who had more boating experience set off on the first leg of their trip in 2006, which lasted about 21 days. This leg took them through the Pacific Islands. After the first jaunt, the Grabs felt they had what it took to set off and complete the rest of their journey around the world — an adventure which ended early last year. Between walks on active volcanic rims, swimming with dolphins and whales. and dining with international locals, the couple battled with slight forms of sea sickness and the perils of spending days on wavy seas. Christi said she mastered the art of “propping myself up with elbows” and successfully dealt with food falling from overhead compartments of their small Nordhavn power boat, aptly named Kosmos. On top of setting up a blog detailing their two-year adventure from San Diego through French Polynesia, Europe, Asia, the Caribbean and back to San Diego, the Grabs also wrote a book about daily life at sea and their times in foreign countries. The book is titled “The Unexpected Circumnavigation: Unusual Boat, Unusual People Volume 1: San Diego to Australia.” The couple spent most of their time on land visiting entire communities of people in various parts of the world that are only reachable by boat or other water craft, Eric said. And despite overblown myths of pirates and other seafaring crooks, the adventurers remained safe. “People are people and they live there lives … especially when we were away from tourist areas, we felt safer there than we did in a big tourist [cities],” he said. Now working out of a Point Loma marina, the couple continues to regale the local sailors and land-lovers alike with speaking engagements promoting their book and offering advice to other travelers in a burgeoning boating and marine community. The Grabs spoke about their trip and signed copies June 26 at West Marine in the Midway area. Details of the trip can be found on their blog at kosmos.liveflux.net.