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.
Luperon Hurricane Hole: An image of Henry and Paul driving our dinghy with SV Aphrodite in the background next to an image of the track of hurricane Matthew in 2016 when we stayed in Luperon for hurricane season.
June 6, 2016October 16, 2026Lorraine Escher

Luperón Long Reads — Waiting Out Hurricane Season

How to avoid seasickness while sailing
May 27, 2016August 6, 2026Lorraine Escher

How to Avoid Seasickness While Sailing: Ditching Dramamine

Beginner Sailor Departure Checklist: Photo taken under red lights to preserve our night vision on an evening departure
May 25, 2016August 5, 2026Lorraine Escher

Beginner Sailor Checklist for Leaving an Anchorage (PDF)

Exumas Sailing. A picture of Betty and Paul on the beach at Shroud Cay.
May 24, 2016September 26, 2026Lorraine Escher

Bahamas Long Reads — Exumas Stories

Off the beaten track Bahamas: A Nurse Shark that we seriously feared in the Jumentos, Ragged Islands and other islands south of George Town.
May 23, 2016September 26, 2026Lorraine Escher

Off the Beaten Track Bahamas: Sailing Beyond the Exumas

New friends in Abraham's Bay, Mayaguana, Bahamas.
May 22, 2016August 4, 2026Lorraine Escher

Mayaguana, Bahamas: The Generosity in Abraham’s Bay

May 12, 2016October 6, 2026Lorraine Escher

Ragged Islands, Bahamas: Duncan Town and Buena Vista Cay

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
May 1, 2016July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Swimming With a Wild Dolphin in the Bahamas (With Video)

Hurricane Season in the Caribbean
April 24, 2016August 19, 2026Lorraine Escher

Hurricane Season in the Caribbean: Why We Chose Luperón

April 9, 2016July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Docking Drama in George Town, Bahamas: No Steering, Wind

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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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