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.
Child Safety While Traveling
January 17, 2015August 8, 2026Lorraine Escher

Child Safety While Traveling: Keeping Four Kids Together

medical emergencies at sea
January 15, 2015August 10, 2026Lorraine Escher

Medical Emergencies at Sea: Preparing to Be Self-Sufficient

Sailing Crew Packing List: My husband's gear for crewing in Antigua laid-out and ready to be packed
January 11, 2015August 23, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing Crew Packing List: 5 Weeks With Carry-On Only

Sailing self-doubt
January 10, 2015August 15, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing Self-Doubt: Fears Before Our Family Set Sail

January 9, 2015August 23, 2026Lorraine Escher

Planning to Sail Away Before We Even Owned a Boat

Food allergies on a sailboat
January 8, 2015August 23, 2026Lorraine Escher

Food Allergies on a Sailboat: Planning for a Child at Sea

Docking a sailboat at the Royal Langkawi Yacht Club, Malaysia
January 7, 2015August 2, 2026Lorraine Escher

Docking a Sailboat: Is it a Relationship Builder?

Renting Out Our House to Sail
January 4, 2015August 8, 2026Lorraine Escher

Renting Out Our House to Go Sailing: What Went Wrong

Annapolis Boat Show for Beginners: Photo of Shoes at the Annapolis Boat Shoes. All of the shoes are slip-ons except those of the first-time attendee, and writer.
January 3, 2015August 22, 2026Lorraine Escher

Annapolis Boat Show for Beginners: 4 Things to Know

sailing-navigation-without-GPS
December 31, 2014October 15, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing Navigation Without GPS: Charting a Course by Hand

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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

Managing Food Allergies at Sea
Checklist for the Big Move

From the Archives

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