Ventura anesthesiologist David Harris, MD, has found the perfect antidote to the intense pressure that physicians feel from all sides these days. He and his family--wife Desiree Domingo-Foraste, MD, a family practice physician, and 11-year-old twins Ryan and Wesley--set sail on the Gone Native, a 43-foot, four-cabin catamaran. And when they set sail, they set sail.

Capt. Harris, Dr. Mom and "the crew" returned this past fall from the first leg of an around-the-world trip and will take off next summer on the second leg. That trip will take them from Turkey through the Strait of Gibraltar to St. Lucia and Aruba. The family will then traverse the Panama Canal and sail up the coast, returning to Ventura County by late spring or summer 2009.

"Dealing with insurance companies and the administration of a medical practice is getting to be very, very burdensome," Dr. Harris says. "Getting away from that helps me keep my sanity. I could travel with my family like this indefinitely. Spending this time together gives me the contrast to my professional life that I need to continue enjoying it."

Both physicians are senior practitioners at their respective medical groups, but Drs. Harris and Domingo-Foraste still report that they had to work hard to make their sabbatical possible.

Excerpted from his captain's log at www.gonenativesailinglog.com are these memories:

June 12, 2005--Desiree and I are leaving with our family on a voyage through the Mediterranean on our catamaran. This is an adventure with an eight-year gestation. For the next year and a half, we will be sailing from Spain to Turkey and back again, before beginning the journey home from nearly halfway around the world.

July 24, 2006--We found a shallow, beautifully turquoise-colored bay off the coast of Paxos, Greece. We got all scuba-geared up and swam to some shallow rocks. The kids were very comfortable underwater, and it was exciting to dive in the crystal clear water together.

July 31, 2006--Our intention had been to sail further, but we anchored in the first safe haven off the island of Ikaria. We put out extra chain to weigh down the anchor in hopes of good holding. I snorkeled to the anchor and it was perfectly set, ready to ride the wind. There were 40-knot gusts throughout the night. Although the boat rocked through the waves, we held our position well. It was three days before the wind settled to a brisk Force 6 and we could continue on our way.

Oct. 1, 2006--We are now in Turkish waters. It is hard to believe that our days in Greece are now behind us. We have arrived at Marmaris Yacht Marina, where the boat will be wintered. We leave shortly from Istanbul to Lyon, France. We will make our way to Paris and hopefully catch a day at Euro Disney before we take our flight home from [Paris' Charles] de Gaulle Airport.

This Southern California native simply loves a rush of adrenaline. Indeed, Dr. Harris says one the high points of his medical career was his pediatric anesthesia fellowship at Boston Children's Hospital, a Harvard University-affiliated institution. "It's a world center for pediatric anesthesia," he explains. "We did everything from consults to separation of conjoined twins. I saw and did things there I would never want to see in my private practice. It was a tremendous opportunity."

Dr. Harris realizes time may be running short on the family's ability to seek adventure together. "The twins will go off to college eventually," he sighs. Before then, he's thinking about sailing to Alaska or combining his two great loves with a trip to New Zealand or Australia, whose governments offer all kinds of job opportunities for physicians in their public health system.

The fact that many of those jobs are in Australia's notoriously remote, rural places doesn't faze Team Harris. "I have an experimental airplane I built some years back," Dr. Harris reports. "I can containerize it and send it to Sydney, then fly around for a while. The more possibilities there are available, the more entertaining it is."

And because his crew doesn't quite shave yet, Capt. Harris finds himself acting as "Chief Plumber, Electrician, Rigger and Toilet-Unstopper" wherever the trips take him. But life aboard the Gone Native isn't all chores and adventures. Family time in the evening is far more relaxing at sea than it is on land. The only distraction? The waves lapping softly against the side of the craft. Well, that and the incredible views of the moon and stars with no city lights in the way.

There's also a lot of home schooling to be done. When Ryan and Wesley are in school on dry land, they're in an accelerated academic program. As they enter seventh grade, they are fluent in Spanish and conversant in French, their proud father adds. And, of course, with kids in the house--or the boat, as the case may be--there's going to be some television watching. "We get together and watch DVDs that we couldn't all take the time to watch together at home," Dr. Harris says. "The boys love 'Gilligan's Island' reruns."