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.
Gill Deck Tech Race Trainer Shoes
April 10, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing Shoes: Technical Trainers vs Leather Boat Shoes

April 8, 2015August 30, 2026Lorraine Escher

Making Maple Syrup at Home: A Taste of Canada

Paul at the top of the mast in Auckland, New Zealand, with the Auckland Harbour Bridge behind.
April 5, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Travelling with a Severe Tree Nut Allergy: Our Son’s Story

Cleaning a Used Boat
April 4, 2015September 17, 2026Lorraine Escher

Cleaning a Used Boat: 30 Bags of the Last Owner’s Stuff

First night aboard a sailboat
April 3, 2015September 6, 2026Lorraine Escher

Our First Night Aboard a Sailboat at a Florida Marina

April 1, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Our Move Date: 13 Weeks to Pack Up and Move Aboard

Pirate flag 1053085 m
March 30, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Dangers at Sea: Pirates, Storms, Guns and Capsize

Our catamaran SV Aphrodite with the team from St Francis Marine in South Africa.
March 27, 2015September 5, 2026Lorraine Escher

SV Aphrodite: The Family Catamaran with a History of Adventure

Hiring a skipper comparison: Poster from the 1992 movie, Captain Ron
March 24, 2015August 13, 2026Lorraine Escher

Hiring a Skipper: Learning to Sail Like Captain Ron

Revised planning spreadsheet, budgeting information is intentionally blacked out
March 24, 2015October 15, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailboat Refit Budget: How We Planned Our Catamaran Refit

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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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