Cruising

I was recently interviewed by Linus Wilson of the Slow Boat Sailing Podcast about cruising in French Polynesia. You can listen in to the episode here to learn about our favorite places, words of caution, and more.

It’s hard to cruise the Mediterranean and miss Malta, an island literally at the crossroads of Europe and North Africa. There, it’s as common to meet sailors heading east for the Red Sea as those heading west to Gibraltar, as we were. From the very start of our cruise two months earlier, we had looked forward to visiting this small island that straddles the centuries, and when we arrived… Read on here!

It’s not that you shouldn’t try to fix anything that breaks; it’s just that you don’t necessarily have to fix everything that breaks. The key is knowing when to give in and get on with your cruise. Read more here…

What a nice surprise! My article “Should I Stay or Should I Go” recently received a merit award at Boat Writer’s International annual writing content in the “Boating Adventures” category. It recounts the tricky decision we had to make whether to weather a storm in Tonga or try to beat it with a quick passage to New Zealand. Here’s an excerpt of the article, published in the September 2015 issue of Ocean Navigator magazine… Read on here…

So many things are lost when we busy ourselves with “civilized” lives on land; so many great, though simple, pleasures can be regained by spending time on the sea. There, we quickly shrink to humble proportions amidst greater forces: the wind, waves, and tides. On one magical overnight passage in the Caribbean, these elements harmonized, treating us to a memorable ride. Read more…

A cruiser’s book exchange can be a delightfully mixed bag, especially on a remote atoll in the Cook Islands. Continue reading…

Every cruiser knows the importance of flying the host nation’s courtesy flag. But what if you find yourself unprepared? Maybe the wind changed your plans. Maybe you refused to buy the overpriced, undersized flag at the last chandlery. Or maybe you just plain forgot. What then? Not to worry! With a little imagination, you can jury-rig any flag of the world. Read more here…

Is it too much to claim that Port Antonio is one of the most overlooked highlights of the Caribbean? Our plans to call there were poo-pooed by sailors all along the US East Coast who warned us of lurking dangers and rampant crime. But our week-long stay proved the opposite: Port Antonio is a safe, friendly place that welcomes cruisers with open arms. Continue reading…

You’d think that a solitary South Seas anchorage filling up with sixty sailors aboard six charter catamarans would spell bad news for the handful of full-time cruisers already moored there. Instead, it was the prelude to one of our fondest South Pacific memories. Continue reading…