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: Imagining Life Afloat

Imagining Life Afloat describes my early thoughts about what it would be like to live aboard. The decision to sail around the world happened in an instant, but I spent much longer thinking through the details.

Ottawa on a hot day
July 28, 2015September 30, 2026Lorraine Escher

Living on a Sailboat in the Tropics Without Air Conditioning

Pressure Cooker on a Sailboat: Learning to Cook Aboard
June 14, 2015August 29, 2026Lorraine Escher

Pressure Cooker on a Sailboat: Learning to Cook Aboard

May 28, 2015August 6, 2026Lorraine Escher

Learning to Sail From Scratch: Our First Six Months

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

Sailing Shoes: Technical Trainers vs Leather Boat Shoes

Boat Kid Perspective: Betty from SV Aphrodite before we moved aboard and began our circumnavigation.
March 18, 2015August 16, 2026Lorraine Escher

Boat Kid Perspective: Why a 9-Year-Old Wanted to Sail

Boating in the 1970s
March 10, 2015August 15, 2026Lorraine Escher

Boating in the 1970s: Navigation Was Simpler

Sailing hair: Barbie as model
February 7, 2015August 25, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing Hair, Don’t Care: Going Short and Ditching the Dye

February 3, 2015September 9, 2026Lorraine Escher

Outsourcing Household Chores So I Could Learn to Sail

Marina Etiquette: Essential Knots
January 29, 2015August 22, 2026Lorraine Escher

Marina Etiquette: Good Sailing Knots Make Good Neighbours

Low-maintenance hair for sailing: Sam Shepherd washes Nicole Kidman's hair in the movie, Dead Calm.
January 27, 2015August 25, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing Hair: Going Low-Maintenance Before Living Aboard

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From the Archives

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