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.
April 1, 2016July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing the Jumentos, Bahamas: Hog Cay Cut and Water Cay

March 25, 2016July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

George Town, Bahamas: Summer Camp for Cruisers

March 17, 2016July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Pigs, Sharks, and Thunderball Grotto — Exploring the Exumas with Kids

Shroud Cay, Bahamas
March 15, 2016September 21, 2026Lorraine Escher

Shroud Cay, Exumas: Exploring the Tidal Creeks by Dinghy

Our son Paul jumping into the sea in the Bahamas with the safety of our DIY swim enclosure.
February 28, 2016August 14, 2026Lorraine Escher

Cruising Life With Kids: Busy Days Anchored in the Bahamas

A Nalgene bottle being filled directly from our watermaker
February 16, 2016August 19, 2026Lorraine Escher

When the Watermaker Breaks: What Goes Wrong on a Sailboat

Endangered Allen Cays Rock Iguana (Cyclura cychlura inornata)
February 8, 2016July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Allen Cay, Exumas: Iguanas, a Stingray and a 40-Knot Blow

Nassau Jitney Bus
February 3, 2016July 25, 2026Lorraine Escher

Nassau Jitney Bus: How It Works and the Real Bahamas

mattress for a boat
January 28, 2016August 8, 2026Lorraine Escher

Buying a Mattress for a Boat: When Delivery Means Dinghy

Sailing from Florida to the Bahamas
January 27, 2016October 6, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing From Florida to the Bahamas: 11 Hours to Cat Cay

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From the Archives

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