I woke up naturally around 7 but laid in bed for a while listening to the birds chirping and the howler monkeys howling before I climbed over a semi-conscious John and out of bed. I seem to fall into a morning ritual when we are at anchor of climbing…

Some of you were following along on social media as we duked it out with our recent boat guest. Here is the whole story, as printed in 48 North last month.

Chepe recently moved in with us. We did not invite Chepe to move in; we were not looking for…

When we were in Southern Mexico, we had to contend with the Tehuantepecs, forceful winds that tear across the skinny bit of Mexico from the Caribbean and pummel any boats blithe enough to try to cross their path. Halcyon did not enjoy her time in the Tehuantepecs (you can…

About three years ago, John and I decided it was time for a vacation. Not a vacation in that “take time off work to visit family” kind of way, but a real actual “go somewhere sunny” vacation. Our parameters were: reasonably priced plane ticket, warm and sunny, no major…

I am perched cautiously in a dusty plastic chair, with two of its legs sunk into the rutted dirt road and one suspended on the concrete stoop in front of Hotel Sport. It is a mismatched crew that sits and leans haphazardly – Gerhardt, an 82-year old German/Canadian sipping…

I live on a sailboat. It has many of the amenities that a home on land has – like a kitchen with a stove and oven, two beds, a bathroom with a toilet and running water, and plenty of storage, at least for my small number of belongings. It…

In our travels so far, I can say with confidence we have not discovered a place better suited for cruising than the Pacific Northwest. While I can’t complain about the warm water and cheap tacos of Mexico, I miss the lush cliff sides and tangled kelp beds, the abundance…

Is it too cliché to start this with a contemplative statement like “I can’t believe we’ve already been cruising for a year” or “This year has really flown by” or maybe “can you believe our boat’s still floating after a whole year”? It’s hard not to because that’s precisely…