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.
Coffee grinder winches
April 28, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

What Is a Jib? Grinding Winches at Antigua Sailing Week

Speakers at the beach
April 26, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Learning to Sail at Antigua Sailing Week: A Humbling Start

April 26, 2015August 25, 2026Lorraine Escher

Round Antigua Race as a Beginner: Racing or Lounging?

The sail catches the wind and springs to life on the SV Spirit of Juno
April 24, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

My First Sail: Seasickness and a Ripped Mainsail in Antigua

Mongoose restaurant at night, Falmouth Bay, Antigua
April 24, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Antigua Sailing Week: Meeting My Race Crew Before the Start

April 23, 2015July 25, 2026Lorraine Escher

Antigua Sailing Week as a Newbie Sailor: Arrival Day

April 20, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

RYA Day Skipper Theory: How I Passed Online With Navathome

Asw logo
April 20, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Leaving My Family for Antigua Sailing Week: Mixed Feelings

April 17, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

RYA Day Skipper Theory Online: It’s Not Child’s Play

Catamaran color scheme: We toyed with Pacific Blue, but eventually picked Dark Blue
April 13, 2015September 5, 2026Lorraine Escher

Choosing a Catamaran Color Scheme: Trampoline, Canvas, Art

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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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