Becoming a Sailor

Becoming a Sailor

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

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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.
Karen Escher painting the keel in Langkawi, Malaysia.
April 13, 2026July 23, 2026Lorraine Escher

Keel Art: Whale Sharks on a Moving Canvas by a Teen Artist

Paul leaving SV Aphrodite and his family for the first time at the Langkawi International Airport
March 16, 2026July 21, 2026Lorraine Escher

Leaving for an Epic Adventure: Crewing on a Sailboat at 18

Rick Escher presenting his submission video on the MedSailingAdvisor application that he wrote as part of the MedGemma Impact Challenge 2026.
February 23, 2026August 11, 2026Lorraine Escher

MedGemma Impact Challenge: Offline Triage App for Sailors

A side-by-side image of the Taipei 101 climbed by Alex Honnold in January 2026 and a land diving event on Pentecost Island, Vanuatu.
January 26, 2026July 27, 2026Lorraine Escher

Land Diving on Pentecost Island: Ritual, Tourists, Ethics

Karen painting the underside of our saloon table at Lunas Shipyard in Langkawi, Malaysia.
January 11, 2026July 21, 2026Lorraine Escher

Boat Interior Painting: Teaching My Teen A Useful Skill

Hands showing how the curvature of our hull impacts the amount of usable counterspace.
November 27, 2025July 21, 2026Lorraine Escher

Measuring with Accuracy: The Skill I Never Learned

A man in a yellow shirt at Brother Lim Cushion in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
November 24, 2025July 21, 2026Lorraine Escher

Brother Lim Cushion: A Fresh Start for our Marine Upholstery

Photo of Escher kids on SV Aphrodite on the Ultraleather saloon cushions after slightly less than two years of use.
November 23, 2025July 22, 2026Lorraine Escher

Ultraleather Boat Upholstery: Our Honest 9-Year Review

Eastbay Foreman, Rashid, and another woodworker from Eastbay apply new cherry veneer to a cupboard in our saloon.
October 27, 2025July 21, 2026Lorraine Escher

Boat Woodwork Refit in Malaysia: A Full-On Transformation

Writer of the Grade 6 Essay Sample, Betty with her hand-drawn Montserrat flag. Later, she laminated the flag and we flew it on our boat,, SV Aphrodite.
October 23, 2025July 22, 2026Lorraine Escher

Grade 6 Essay Sample: Effects of the Soufrière Hills Volcano

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Family Meeting

This Week in Years Past

  • 1 year ago this weekFedEx Shipping to Malaysia for a Yacht in Transit
  • 3 years ago this weekTravel Safety in Honiara: Mugged on Skyline Road at Dawn
  • 9 years ago this weekFishing in Bequia: A Boy Learns From a Local Fisherman
  • 9 years ago this weekDominica Travel: If Outside Magazine Visited the Caribbean

Worth Reading

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From the Archives

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