February 10, 2016
Ship shape and Bristol fashion
I have never been a neat freak, nor was I very messy in my land-lubber life. However, living on board a boat does teach you the advantages to being that bit tidier. But it’s a lesson that you only learn by getting it spectacularly wrong to [...]
November 10, 2015
Sick of the sea
It’s often surprising to me how many people say that they’d love to do what we’re doing and go out sailing long-term to far-off exotic lands but are unable to because they suffer from seasickness. Yet, what’s more unexpected perhaps is that I reply…
October 2, 2015
The impromptu bank holiday
Getting out on the water and sailing is a pursuit that most people have to save for their time off. It represents a respite from their other life of being defined by their weekday job and makes every weekend, every summer break and each public…
August 19, 2015
Un-capturing the magic
Sailing is no longer an isolated venture. Every cruiser seems to have a blog, a Facebook page or an Instagram account that can broadcast their breath-taking images of picturesque settings, sending them worldwide in a second. And why do we [...]
June 6, 2015
Gearing up to it
Some ruefully call cruising “mending your boat in exotic locations” or say B.O.A.T. stands for “bring out another thousand”. However, despite an element of maintenance to sailing life, it needn’t be a discouraging amount of [...]
February 26, 2015
Farewell to the boy next door
Being quite new to cruising has meant that we've welcomed the opportunities to make new friends whenever we can. We made friends for life in Laurie and Damon of s/v Mother Jones in Panama, and ended up buddy-boating with them for a few months and…
January 7, 2015
In praise of domesticity
New Year has found life on board becoming all about 'boat sweet boat'. It's a natural progression after being on the go for 9 months across the Pacific that we're using cyclone season and our arrival into New Zealand to have a little down time.…
November 18, 2014
It still rains in paradise
It’s raining today in Fiji. Or perhaps I should say it’s raining again in Fiji. In the last few weeks we’ve been making passages through the reef systems of this beautiful island group but progress has been slow as we’ve been weather dodging, trying…
November 6, 2014
The naked truth
Perhaps it comes from being away from your home country and its associated stigmas. Or maybe there’s an element of feeling on a perpetual holiday. It might even be as simple as no longer caring what anyone thinks. Whichever way you look at it the…
October 8, 2014
3 years at sea, 1, 2, 3…
Those of you who have been reading these ramblings for some time will be aware that we do a run down of our boating statistics each year. So, in the spirit of full disclosure, here's how we made out this year and how it looks compared to [...]
September 16, 2014
The curse of communication
Picture the scene: you’ve just crossed an ocean and, filled with elation, you’re brimming with the urge to share that news with your friends and family back home. But for the global cruising sailor it’s not just as simple as picking up the phone to…
May 20, 2014
On sailing with crew: the good, the bad and the ugly
I wake to the scent of fresh coffee and the familiar clatter of pans and plates as someone moves about, making breakfast in the galley. But, to my surprise and delight James, my boyfriend, is still fast asleep next to me. Welcome to one of the perks…
May 1, 2014
Soothing sounds of the ocean
You’ve probably seen the cds on the racks, heard them in elevators, during a yoga class or if you’ve ever treated yourself and gone to get a massage. The general consensus is that the noises of the sea must be gentle, calming and peaceful which…
February 10, 2013
Rude awakening
It’s 5:30am, the boat is rocking violently from side to side and James and I are covered in water. Had we been on passage this might be something that we were expecting or at least prepared for. But no, this time, we are actually at anchor. The…
February 3, 2013
The Panama Canal
So we talked about it, planned it and worried about it for so long that the actual Canal transit seemed like an absolute doddle (does this remind anyone of all our talk of the Bay of Biscay?). We had decided to use a canal agent as our month in the…
January 3, 2013
Sun, sand and Santa – a month in San Blás
The San Blás islands, also known as the Kuna Yala, is home to the Kuna Indians who are in charge of the entire archipelago of over 350 islands and retain autonomy without interference from the national Panamanian government. The archipelago is…
November 13, 2012
The family Edwards
Following the last post, I should have said it was the perfect break until...We got stuck at the border coming back into Panama. I was already anticipating issues as my passport renewal has resulted in me owning two valid British passports…
October 13, 2012
The art of hibernation
Ah, an empty boat and no guests this month. What to do... what to do? Well, the first answer is, gratefully, nothing. Mary and Don left us and we stayed safely tucked away below deck in the same favoured anchoring spot for nearly 2 weeks before we…
April 12, 2012
The kindness of cruising strangers
In order to separate the flesh of a fresh conch from its bone it is important to make a hole in its shell one ring in from the outside at an angle the same as 2 o’clock on a clock’s face – Valois taught us that. Similarly, when laying a second…
March 29, 2012
Any pets, guns or jetskis?…
…Is the first thing I am asked when we arrive in Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands. The question is asked in a dead pan, humourless voice, by an official at a tiny ferry dock. I am too tired to really register what is being said, so my “No…no,…