Featured Content
From House to Sailboat: How a Family Road Trip Changed Us
We traded a conventional life in Ottawa for the dream of raising our children aboard a sailboat — even though I had never sailed.
About Our Boat
SV Aphrodite is a St. Francis 50 catamaran — Hull #1 of an award-winning bluewater design. See her specs, equipment, and offshore features.
Long Reads: Galapagos
Volcanoes, sharks, penguins, sea lions, offshore fishing fleets, and a message in a bottle — the Galapagos is one of the most interesting and diverse places we have visited during…
Long Reads Grenada
A muddy hike, memory-making at Grenada Carnival, drama on a public bus, sailing passages from Trinidad to Grenada and Grenada to Haiti, and what happened when COVID-19 arrived in a…
Why the Caribbean Has Virtually No Tides
Why Caribbean tides are tiny — and why Panama’s beaches can vanish at high tide.
Luperón Long Reads — Boat Kids Go Local
Joining a local school taught entirely in Spanish, learning baseball, making friends, and discovering how quickly the Luperon cruising community can rally when help is needed.
Luperón Long Reads — Designing and Building a Mooring for Our 50-foot Catamaran
A technical long read about how we built a three-point hurricane mooring.
Luperón Long Reads — Waiting Out Hurricane Season
A gritty, funny, and affectionate look at Luperón, Dominican Republic — from stray dogs and bureaucratic red tape to unexpected kindness, cruiser culture, and lunch with Bruce Van Sant.
Bahamas Long Reads — Exumas Stories
Isolated anchorages, tidal creeks, swimming pigs, dock drama, cruiser life, and an encounter with a wild dolphin.
Southern Bahamas Long Reads — Beyond the Exumas
New to sailing, our family navigates shallow reef cuts, spots nurse sharks and wild flamingos, and visits remote island communities in the southern Bahamas.
Latest Blog Posts
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Splendide 7100XC Review: Not Built for Sailboats
Our Splendide 7100XC washer/dryer met its end after just two years aboard our St. Francis 50 catamaran. From DIY diagnostics in Grenada to a final farewell as a backyard fire pit, this post describes how we tried—and failed—to save a machine that was not designed to be serviced.
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Preparing for a Tropical Storm: 4 Methods Sailors Used
Here we are in Grenada, watching a storm called Gonzalo. Our 12-year-old Paul keeps asking when it starts, while Rick and I ready the boat, because a storm doesn’t care if you’re tired or scared.
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World History for Kids: A Captivating Homeschool Series
To survive the noise of four kids I divide and conquer, reading aloud while Rick tutors the rest. This week my nine-year-old twins and I were carried back in time by a history series I can’t stop recommending.
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Boat Schooling: Academics and University Readiness
Homeschooling four kids on a boat
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Boatyard Project Management: Set Expectations Early
Cruising means being your own mechanic, plumber, and weather forecaster all at once. When Rick flew to Canada and left me alone in a Trinidad boatyard with four kids, I learned to set expectations early.
