Living By the Compass
…And other wanderings by John and Becca
Life Onboard
Our wanderings on Halcyon. From artsy descriptions of picturesque beaches and exciting passages to candid reports of battles with rats.
Life Onboard
December 3, 2018
You haven’t heard from me in a while, and I’m sorry for that. I’m not mad at you, I promise. It’s just that it took me a while to decompress after turning...
Life Onboard
June 30, 2018
Have you ever heard of Heart Interface? They were the first ones to build a reliable inverter for off-grid and marine applications back in the 70’s. Did...
Life Onboard
June 25, 2018
When people ask what we are doing this summer, I answer, “going through the Northwest Passage”. But that statement, said in passing to satisfy the momentary...
Life Onboard
April 12, 2018
Last February, our good friend, Cat, from Seattle came to visit us in Mexico. Within hours of her joining us on Halcyon, she had served me a beer out of...
Life Onboard
March 19, 2018
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...
Life Onboard
February 27, 2018
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...
Life Onboard
February 20, 2018
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...
Life Onboard
February 14, 2018
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...
Boat Projects
They say cruising is really just doing boat work in exotic places. They’re right. A few accounts of the boat work we do on Halcyon on a regular basis.
Boat Projects
February 3, 2019
While we paced around the marina waiting for our new engine, I spent some time giving our website HalcyonWandering some new style. Will you take a look? I'd love to hear what you like or don't like, and
Boat Projects
August 2, 2018
This article appeared in 48 North last month, so it's a little bit out of order now - but I thought I'd share how those final weeks of preparation felt.
***
Like so many of life’s greatest adventures,
Boat Projects
January 27, 2018
I've updated our THE PROJECT page with what we did for Halcyon in 2017. But so you don't have to hurt your thumbs by clicking more than necessary -- here's what I added.
2017
This was our first full year
Boat Projects
August 21, 2017
During the passage to Zihuatanejo back in April, our transmission took its last breaths. Once we had sailed onto anchor, recovered from the passage, and had a beer or two, we set off in search of a mechanic
Boat Projects
May 7, 2017
I awake with a start, anxious to know what time it is. We have an appointment this morning, so the time matters, but we don’t have to be there until 10. It is rare these days to have a timeline in the
Boat Projects
March 24, 2017
A momentous occasion, you might say. I’m waiting for someone to arrive with champagne to celebrate us. I’ve got the champagne glasses and the party hats all ready to go. They must be late...
If Halcyon
Northwest Passage
In the summer of 2018, we joined s/v DogBark in their attempt to transit the Northwest Passage. Unfortunately, ice blocked our path and we were forced to retreat to Hawaii. Read about our journey here.
Northwest Passage
December 17, 2018
Well, in the end we didn't sail through the northwest passage. But we did have an incredible experience. You can explore our route here, including links...
Northwest Passage
December 13, 2018
*This article appeared in the November issue of 48 North*
Sailing through the arctic is tough, there is no doubt about that. The winds blow hard and...
Northwest Passage
December 7, 2018
*This article appeared in the October publication of 48 North, and then I forgot to share it with you in November. So here it is, to answer the question...
Northwest Passage
October 5, 2018
We were, quite literally, in the middle of the north Pacific Ocean. It was 1,200 nautical miles backwards to Alaska, 1,000 nautical miles forward to Hawaii...
Northwest Passage
October 2, 2018
Here is a piece I wrote while on passage from Alaska to Hawaii, but of course didn't have the internet to post it in real time.
It is the fifth day...
Northwest Passage
September 5, 2018
I’m not one to post glamorous photos of my most recent dinner on Instagram. While I enjoy cooking and consuming delicious and nutritious fare, I don’t...
Northwest Passage
August 30, 2018
This post is out of order, sorry for the inconvenience.
Usually, the stories of our adventures materialize here a few weeks after we have adventured...
Northwest Passage
August 19, 2018
Here is a fun video John shot with the drone of our Arctic Party shenanigans. Such a fun time!
I also published a short piece for Cruising World about...
