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We tend to sail a little bit off the beaten tack.
Instead of leaving from Mexico to sail to French Polynesia,
we continued south to explore Central America for a season. When we got to
Panama, instead of sticking close to the Perlas islands, we wandered up the
rivers of the Darien…
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A month ago, I was pretty sure we had anchored in every
situation. We have anchored with 2 feet of water below the keel and in 70 feet
of water. We have anchored with strong winds pushing one way and a strong
current pushing another. Our anchor has dug in (or sometimes…
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Like most cruisers (and almost-cruisers) these days, we
spent hours on YouTube before we left, watching people just like us finding
paradise. Amateur videos full of epic drone shots of the boat on some remote
tropical island in mirror-like water, surrounded by healthy coral structures
and sandy islands dotted with palm trees, the…
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That ideal trade wind sailing didn’t last like we wanted it to. As we tracked further south, we sailed right into a hole with no wind at all, and now that hole has expanded out in front of us all the way to the Gambiers. We only have about…
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We have finally hit the trades! The southeast trade winds
are a band of ideal wind and current that stretches from here all the way to
French Polynesia. This band brings a steady 15-20 knots of wind on our stern
with sunny skies dotted with only the occasional cumulus cloud. It is…
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Sailing across the ocean was an endurance event. Once all of
the preparations were done, all of the food was stored and all of the tanks
were full, we simply had to go sailing. We sailed for 24 hours. And then we
just did it again, over and over. It would be…
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How do you summarize something that demanded every ounce of your perseverance and patience for 36 days? Something that consumed every thought and decision for the months and years before that? Something that you’ve visualized and dreamed about for longer than you can remember? That’s what I’ve been pondering…
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I had plans yesterday. I should know better. You should never make plans on a boat. I thought my plans were innocent enough, but Neptune disagreed.
My plans involved a short but silly celebration for when we crossed the equator, which we were scheduled to do around 5:30 in the…
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As Andrew (Halcyon’s third crew member for the Pacific crossing) was rinsing dishes in the bin of water that sits in the starboard half of the galley sink, he asked me, with only a hint of bemusement, “how many times can we reuse fresh water before it just becomes…
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Almost every boat in the Pacific Ocean that wants to go to the Atlantic Ocean, and every boat in the Atlantic Ocean that wants to be in the Pacific, passes through these waters. Of course, there are other routes, if you like breaking through ice or battling the roaring…
John is the photographer. He portrays the layers of history, emotion, spirit and culture in each moment through his application of light, perspective, and detail. He also takes pictures.
Becca is the writer. She tells vivid stories of authentic moments, highlighting the beautiful, dangerous, dramatic and hilarious with grammatically correct sentences and her tongue held firmly by her cheek.
