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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Category: Homeschooling Four Kids

Homeschooling Four Kids covers what we first envisioned, the social pressures we’ve faced, and how our plans evolved into a structured approach that lets our children swim with sharks, explore world geography and history firsthand, and still earn high school diplomas with transcripts recognized by universities.

Job Jar for Kids: Boat Jobs For Kids with Karen dusting our Nav desk in the background on SV Aphrodite
June 12, 2026July 25, 2026Lorraine Escher

Job Jar for Kids: How Real Boat Chores Build Grit

Betty after accepting her university offer in Canada after years of homeschooling on a sailboat.
April 22, 2026September 23, 2026Lorraine Escher

Homeschooled on a Sailboat, Betty Got Into University

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: Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat

Karen Escher, boat kid and young artist, works on illustrations for the Princess and the P's Boardgame.
October 9, 2025July 23, 2026Lorraine Escher

Card Game Illustration: A Boat Kid’s First Job at 10

October 26, 2023August 9, 2026Lorraine Escher

Medical Mission in Papua New Guinea: Betty, 17, Volunteers

Glasses sit atop other World War II artifacts including a glass syringe.
September 18, 2023August 9, 2026Lorraine Escher

Peter Joseph WWII Museum: A Backyard Full of World History

June 8, 2023August 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Breadfruit History: Captain Bligh, Colonialism and Fiji

June 18, 2020July 27, 2026Lorraine Escher

Story of the World Review: World History for Kids at Home

June 2, 2020August 26, 2026Lorraine Escher

Boat Schooling: Preparing Cruising Kids for University

November 14, 2016July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

Heavy Rain Closes School in Luperón, Dominican Republic

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On This Day

  • 11 years ago todayFlorida Keys Sailing with Kids: Rodriguez Key and Key Largo

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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