Karen, Andrew, and their four children – Josh, Tristan, Max and Ava – took their first trip in 2010, along the coast of Queensland.

For Ava, a student at the Cairns School of Distance Education (CSDE), sailing is synonymous with home, as she has lived on board since she was four years old.

“My family and I spend the whole year on a boat,” Ava explained.

“Every year or so we return to Australia for health check-ups and to visit relatives, but we haven’t been back since the pandemic began.”

Utopia is almost self-sufficient: the Deeley family generates their electricity through solar panels, a wind turbine and a generator.

They have a small water desalination unit and a rubber dinghy, the vehicle used to transport them from Utopia to dry land.

Ava and her brothers are active members of the crew, taking part in the management of the ship.

They help with supplies, take turns scanning the horizon for obstacles like whales or debris, watch out for changing winds and issues with the sails.

They know how to use the satellite phone and the radio, and before each crossing the family goes through all the emergency procedures to ready themselves for any eventuality.

In spite of their extensive experience, everyone suffers from seasickness.

The long sea journeys are the parts Ava dislikes the most due to potential storms and night shifts.

“I love everything in my life,” she said.

“The best part is travelling, seeing new places, experiencing different cultures and admiring the beauty of other nations – even if I don’t enjoy the heat or visiting historical places.”

Among the memorable experiences with her family, Ava recalls their time driving through Namibia and South Africa, snorkelling with sea lions -  “smelly and noisy” – and whale sharks – harmless but “scarily huge” – visits around Europe in France and Italy, close encounters with orangutans in Borneo and with lemurs in Madagascar.

When the pandemic broke out last year, the Utopia crew were stranded in Mexico with two other families in as many boats.

“We self-isolated in the Gulf of California for a month to make sure we didn’t have COVID-19,” Ava said.

“The situation in Mexico was really alarming; we were constantly afraid of getting sick, especially my parents, who have health problems.”

Ava and her close encounter with a chameleon

The Deeleys were careful, stocking up once a month, trying to avoid contact with other people as much as possible, remaining anchored in isolated places in the company of the other two families who had boys the same age as Ava.

The group tried to keep up their morale in creative ways, with games, masquerades and bonfires on the beach, but there were many problems along the way, and they were only able to resume their travelling in 2021.

Ava doesn’t miss the sedentary nature of 2020, but finds it difficult to say goodbye to friends she meets on her travels, or relatives in Australia, or her older brothers Josh and Tristan who have returned “to the mainland” to work and attend university.

“I wouldn’t change my life for anything in the world,” Ava insisted.

Her mother, Karen, who has a background in education, enrolled her children in CSDE, which allows students to complete their high school studies remotely.

All four of the Deeley children had positive experiences, thanks to the preparation, constant support and flexibility of the teachers.

Ava has been attending CSDE courses since she was 10.

“I like school – it offers a lot of different electives,” she said.

It is not always easy for Ava to manage her workload, there are times when she has no internet access and cannot submit tasks on time.

Ava chose to study Italian after a trip to sunny Italy in 2016.

“It’s a difficult subject to study since you need more internet connection than for the other subjects,” she said.

“I was 10 years old and maybe my opinions were influenced by my love of ice-cream.

“I was fascinated by the culture, language and beauty of the country.

“I think it’s the most beautiful country I’ve ever visited, especially Tuscany.

“I hope to go back one day, and perhaps live there.”           

Ava hopes to continue studying Italian and writing in English, as she has attended creative writing classes at CSDE for two years and has a novel in the works.

She plans to graduate from high school and enrol in university.

To keep up with the adventures of those aboard Utopia, visit the website.