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.
Downsizing room by room
May 31, 2015September 9, 2026Lorraine Escher

Downsizing Room by Room: A Simple Strategy for a Big Task

May 28, 2015August 6, 2026Lorraine Escher

Learning to Sail From Scratch: Our First Six Months

May 23, 2015August 7, 2026Lorraine Escher

Catamaran Trampoline Replacement: Weave, Colour and Weight

Thrift Store Shopping: A tureen purchased in Ottawa
May 21, 2015September 9, 2026Lorraine Escher

Thrift Store Shopping: Was the Adrenaline Rush Worth It?

Creating Curb Appeal in A Forest: a Child walks down a path in a forested property in Carp, Ontario
May 19, 2015September 9, 2026Lorraine Escher

Creating Curb Appeal in a Forest: A 5-Acre Woodland Retreat

Short Fiction Example: Chicken Dinner Delight
May 16, 2015August 21, 2026Lorraine Escher

Short Fiction Example: Chicken Dinner Delight (219 Words)

Decluttering before moving aboard: First run to the thrift store
May 15, 2015September 9, 2026Lorraine Escher

Decluttering Before Moving Aboard: 200 Boxes and a Minivan

May 14, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

VHF DSC Radio: When and How to Send a Distress Call

Sailing snail by esmorc d5szcjf
May 13, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Slow Is Pro: Sailing Lessons From an Antigua Instructor

SV Aphrodite docked in the Florida Keys
May 11, 2015September 8, 2026Lorraine Escher

Downsizing Before Moving Aboard: 6 Weeks to Make It Happen

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From the Archives

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