Sarah Smith is a freelance medical writer who lives on a yacht with her family and continues to work while sailing around the world. It’s challenging – but entirely possible.

Recorded 4 July 2018 at a MedComms Networking event in Oxford. Produced by NetworkPharma.tv

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ABSTRACT:

Everyone assumes that writing while sailing around the world is a glamorous life, but there are several drawbacks and challenges to combining traveling on a boat and working on a long-term basis.

Sarah describes the steps that lead up to her and her family taking off on their yacht, how her business is structured, and the equipment she has needed to work remotely from a boat. Internet access has been the greatest challenge. This has fortunately become easier and faster over the past decade, though not cheaper.

Since the yacht has been home to the whole family for the past 10 years (Bethany and Bryn were aged 7 and 9 when they left the UK in 2007), home school projects have provided the theme for many of the children’s ‘adventures’. School provided the excuse to climb volcanoes and to study the physics and chemistry of distilling rum. It also provided a reason to travel to Italy to study the Romans, to Greece to study the Ancient Greeks, and to The Gambia and the Caribbean to study slavery.

Sarah points out that freelance writing/editing has to be one of the most suitable careers for combining long-term travel and working – and presents many delightful photos.

Written by Sarah Smith, Freelance Medical Writer

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We are building a library of free webcasts, like this one, for the global MedComms Community and others at http://www.networkpharma.tv and we’d welcome your suggestions for new topics and speakers.

Full details of this MedComms Networking event are at http://www.medcommsnetworking.com/event_040718.html

Sarah’s presentation (PDF format) is at http://www.medcommsnetworking.com/presentations/smith_040718.pdf

Sarah’s Linkedin page is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-smith-40481aa2/

Filming and technical direction by Mario Crispino, Freelance Cameraman & Editor

Editorial support by Penny Gray, Freelance Medical Writer

[For the avoidance of doubt: this video is intended to be freely accessible to all. Please feel free to share and use however you like. Cheers Peter Llewellyn, Director NetworkPharma Ltd and Founder of the MedComms Networking Community activity at http://www.medcommsnetworking.com]