A lot can happen at sea

Happy New Year! I know that hasn't been that much by way of news visible here, but without covering too many miles we're simply cracking on and getting ahead with boat jobs, keeping our girl happy. But, in the meantime, I've made a [...]

Yes we ARE still Sailing Today!

After a looooooooooong overdue update (please remember I'm working on a book here folks!!) I've finally caught up with all the Sailing Today columns that I should have been posting up here each month. Head on over to [...]

Anniversary and updates

Time flies when you're having fun... It's already 5 years since I started writing the "Blue Note" column for Sailing Today Magazine in the UK and I'm so happy that they have been [...]

Hooray for dolphins

It doesn’t matter how many years I have lived at sea, what oceans I’ve sailed or the lands I’ve visited, I will never, ever tire of seeing dolphins. I’ve encountered them in flat calms, when the very [...]

It looks like rain

Sometimes the life of a liveaboard sailor seems completely at odds with that of a landlubber: things that may seem simple in our boat lives may be infinitely more complex in a house. Likewise, there are subjects that appear trivial when you live on…

The scenic route

You’re going sailing? Fantastic! Where to? I hear Hawaii might be nice, or how about the Azores? Will you simply follow the [...]

Out of control

There is nothing quite so daunting as suddenly being at the helm of your own boat for the first time. When it came to the 44 footers that I had first sailed on I was comfortable that my steering was effective, that my understanding of wind…

The hospital ship

The first lesson of parenting is really to expect the unexpected. Funnily enough, the same can be said of liveaboard sailing. Often our travels see us going from one extreme to the other in terms of available supplies as we’ve sailed both to big,…

On bravery

I suppose it must be true that sometimes it takes seeing yourself and your life through another person’s eyes to admit and accept certain facts. I don’t consider myself to be a particularly [...]

Peek-a-boat

We all imagine that we are alone on our boats. Gently swaying at anchor, with the sun shining down, lulls us into a false sense of [...]

New money for old rope

I simply adore swap meets. The traditional car boot sale or antiques market in land-lubber life has always had a certain appeal but they are always plagued with the business of having to root through all the junk to uncover something useful. By…

Uncommon courtesy

We sailors love our special bits of rules and etiquette don’t we? From COLREGs to radio speak, the yachting world is littered with hints and tips of best practice that help the novice adjust to this whole new language of sailing. But whilst [...]

Climate change

Cruising full-time has moments where you seem to go from one extreme to the other. It’s a feeling that I tend to associate with the weather; acclimatising to one set of conditions only to be [...]

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines

After the ghoulish curiosity for questions about storms and pirates abates, people are always interested in our engine. And it’s often with a tone of [...]

The storm before the calm

Ahhh, the sailing life. The imagined carefree bliss of cruising through gin-clear waters, of sunsets in secluded Caribbean anchorages, of whitesand beaches in the South Pacific, dolphins dancing at your bow wave whilst the steady tradewinds carry…

Trash soup

Sailing gives you the opportunity to have your eyes opened to different cultures, exotic new flavours and languages, enabling you to learn new ways of thinking and being. This constant education is the single most fulfilling thing about our cruising…

Row, row, row your boat

To row or not to row? That is the question. Getting your dinghy from A to B, from boat to shore, is an everyday occurrence for any liveaboard. But, although seemingly [...]

The squirrel sailor

In a floating world where self-reliance and ingenuity rule it pays to be prepared. Living in a state where both your plans and the weather can change on you is one thing and you never quite know what issue or challenge might crop up on a boat. But…

Bareboat sailing

Sailors like to get naked. After all your boat is your home and who needs to be covered up in sweltering layers in the tropical heat? Why not just [...]

The cardinal sin

Traditionally there are certain laws or superstitions that sailors like to live by. “No bananas on a boat… don’t let a woman onboard… never leave port on a Friday…” All fine examples of dubious seafaring wisdom that we choose to bluntly and…