David Crystal Writes Back
Lorraine's First Person essay in The Globe and Mail: our family dictionary, Betty, a famous linguist, and finding joy in what really matters.
SV Aphrodite · A family of six · since 2015 · 40+ countries
More than a decade afloat.
The voyage continues.
So does Becoming a Sailor.
Start here
New to the blog? A short guided path.
Latest on the blog
Also new
-
Pulau Indah Marina: A Guide for Cruisers
Pulau Indah Marina near Port Klang, from two months aboard: water, no shore power, monkeys, docks and security, fuel rules, mail, and trains to KL.
-
Long-Term Storage While Traveling: Is It Worth the Cost?
Eleven years of paying to store a piano, furniture and a snow blower while we sail: what went wrong, and questions to ask before renting a unit.
-
The Queen’s Housing Lottery: Choosing a Uni Residence
How Betty ranked Queen's residences for the housing lottery: what mattered, the quiz and spreadsheet that helped, and how she landed in Leonard Hall.
Get new stories from SV Aphrodite by email
Waiting for your code.
I don’t yet understand sailing culture
or the language.
From a 2015 post
From House to Sailboat: How a Family Road Trip Changed UsExplore the blog, chapter by chapter
Posts in order of where we sailed.
-
Before We Moved Aboard
113 posts
We radically downsized, bought a boat, and rented our house, Rick took a refresher course and I learned to sail.
-
Florida and the Bahamas
43 posts
Our first eight months living aboard, when the boat, the weather and our routines were all still new to us.
-
The Caribbean
66 posts
For six years, we sailed the Caribbean from the Turks and Caicos to Trinidad and Haiti (pictured).
-
Panama and the Pacific
11 posts
Dolphins rode our bow wave more than once, and booby birds hitched a ride on deck.
-
Melanesia
19 posts
We had planned to provision and be on our way. Instead, we went ashore and immediately felt welcomed by the local people.
-
Micronesia to Southeast Asia
26 posts
From Micronesia we sailed to the Philippines, then through the South China Sea, past Singapore, to Malaysia and Thailand (pictured).
This week in years past
-
8 years ago this week
Ditch Bag for a Pacific Crossing: Rethinking Life Raft Gear
Our old ditch bag was packed for quick rescue, not survival. What the books Adrift and Sea Survival taught us to pack for a Pacific crossing.
-
10 years ago this week
English-Speaking Eye Doctor in the Dominican Republic
How we found English-speaking eye doctors at Clínica Corominas in Santiago, Dominican Republic, what the visits cost, and Betty's joy at her first glasses.
-
11 years ago this week
Halloween in Tavernier, Florida Keys: A Street Carnival
Halloween in Tavernier, Florida: golf carts, driveway parties, free pumpkins and melting chocolate, plus where we've found Halloween while cruising.
-
11 years ago this week
Florida Keys Sailing with Kids: Rodriguez Key and Key Largo
Anchored off Rodriguez Key (with coordinates and depth), we took the dinghy into Key Largo and stumbled on a free dockside party with our four kids.
Word of the hour
Read the full definition