Becoming a Sailor

Becoming a Sailor

More Than a Decade Afloat • Raising Sailors • Stories from SV Aphrodite

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  • Our story in six chapters, in the order we sailed it.

    See the story-map →See our entire route →

    Before We Moved Aboard

    • From House to Sailboat: How a Road Trip Changed Us
    • Buying Our St Francis 50 Catamaran
    • Learning to Sail From Scratch
    • Our Family Camping Gap Month
    • Browse all 113 posts →
    • This chapter on the map →

    Florida and the Bahamas

    • Living on a Sailboat With Kids: Freedom or Confinement?
    • Crossing the Gulf Stream
    • Off the Beaten Track Bahamas
    • Bahamas Long Reads: Exumas Stories
    • Browse all 43 posts →
    • This chapter on the map →

    The Caribbean

    • Luperón Long Reads: Boat Kids Go Local
    • Dominica Travel: If Outside Magazine Visited
    • Rough Offshore Sailing in a Gale
    • Long Reads Grenada: 6 Stories From Our Sailboat
    • Browse all 66 posts →
    • This chapter on the map →

    Panama and the Pacific

    • Crossing the Panama Canal
    • Shellback Ceremony at the Equator
    • Long Reads: Galápagos
    • Sleep Deprivation at Sea
    • Browse all 11 posts →
    • This chapter on the map →

    Melanesia

    • Heavy Weather Sailing: NZ to Fiji
    • Sevusevu Ceremony in Fiji
    • Land Diving on Pentecost Island
    • Shallow Water Blackout
    • Browse all 19 posts →
    • This chapter on the map →

    Micronesia to Southeast Asia

    • Lagoon to Table: Subsistence Fishing
    • Losing an Anchor in Thailand
    • 322 Days in a Malaysian Boatyard
    • Bangla Road Phuket
    • Browse all 26 posts →
    • This chapter on the map →

    By Topic

    • Learning to Sail
    • Downsizing & Moving Aboard
    • Sailing With Kids & Homeschooling
    • Boat Projects & Gear
    • Health & Safety at Sea
    • Food & Provisioning
    • Family, Crew & Guests
    • Writing & Creative
    • Browse all 291 posts →
  • About the CrewMeet our family of six from OttawaSt Francis 50 Catamaran Specs: SV Aphrodite, a Bluewater CatSV Aphrodite, our St Francis 50 catamaran
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Author: Lorraine Escher

Canadian writer and sailor. Honours BA in English Literature (Carleton University) and a decade as a senior technical and marketing writer at Nortel Networks and Alcatel. Since 2015 Lorraine has lived aboard the St Francis 50 catamaran SV Aphrodite, homeschooling four children while cruising the Caribbean, crossing the Pacific, and working toward a circumnavigation. Her cruising writing has appeared in SAIL Magazine, All At Sea, and Caribbean Compass.
October 16, 2017August 2, 2026Lorraine Escher

Trinidad Oil Spill: Our Boat in Chaguaramas Harbour

Family Living on a catamaran: Aphrodite, a St Francis 50 features in Multihull Sailor Magazine.
September 19, 2017September 26, 2026Lorraine Escher

Family Living on a Catamaran: Multihull Sailor Magazine, September 2017

September 13, 2017August 16, 2026Lorraine Escher

Cruising the BVIs: Marina Cay & Trellis Bay Full Moon Party

August 23, 2017August 1, 2026Lorraine Escher

Fishing in Bequia: Our Son Learns from a Local Fisherman

Dominica Travel
August 21, 2017July 31, 2026Lorraine Escher

Dominica Travel: If Outside Magazine Visited the Caribbean

August 18, 2017July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Taking the Bus in Grenada: Fares, Soca and Drama

PIcture of the Escher kids on the deck of SV Aphrodite during Grenada Carnival 2017
August 16, 2017August 16, 2017Lorraine Escher

Sights to See (and Unsee) at Grenada Carnival 2017

Interviewing Crew
August 14, 2017August 7, 2026Lorraine Escher

Finding Crew for a Pacific Crossing: Our Ad Went Wrong

July 3, 2017July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Grenada Hash House Harriers: A Muddy Hash with Our Kids

Betty in front of the Soufriere volcano in Montserrat - lots of ash wound up on our catamaran, Aphrodite
June 27, 2017July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing to Montserrat: Volcano, Ash and the Exclusion Zone

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This Week in Years Past

  • 1 year ago this weekBoat Woodwork Refit in Malaysia: A Full-On Transformation
  • 1 year ago this weekGrade 6 Essay Sample: Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat
  • 3 years ago this weekMedical Mission in Papua New Guinea: Betty, 17, Volunteers
  • 10 years ago this weekLuperón, Dominican Republic: School Days and an Orange Wagon

Worth Reading

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Checklist for the Big Move

From the Archives

  • Boat Projects
  • Homeschooling Four Kids
  • Early Years of Cruising
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