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: Packing up and moving

Packing Up and Moving describes how we transitioned from life in a house to a life on a St Francis 50 catamaran. The blog posts in this sub-category covers the pure chaos of downsizing to being able to reflect back and provide some lessons learned and checklists.

Long Term Storage While Traveling: feature image
September 12, 2026September 12, 2026Lorraine Escher

Long-Term Storage While Traveling: Is It Worth the Cost?

Moving aboard a sailboat: A composite image that includes four checklists I created after moving from a house to a sailboat as a family of six from Canada.
December 28, 2015August 7, 2026Lorraine Escher

Moving Aboard a Sailboat: The 4 Checklists We Wish We’d Had

July 18, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

CBC Radio Interview with Stu Mills: Listen to the Audio

House to Boat feature image
July 17, 2015August 14, 2026Lorraine Escher

House to Boat: How We Downsized, Stored and Shipped Our Gear

Living in a campground while preparing to move aboard our sailboat
July 12, 2015September 6, 2026Lorraine Escher

Living in a Campground Before Sailing Away: A Family of Six

July 10, 2015July 3, 2026Lorraine Escher

CBC Radio Visit: How Our Sailing Plans Became a News Story

Camping Solo with 4 Kids in an REI Tent
July 5, 2015August 30, 2026Lorraine Escher

Camping Solo With 4 Kids: Mama Bear Mode in Ottawa

Canada Day in Ottawa: a day to celebrate
July 1, 2015August 30, 2026Lorraine Escher

Canada Day in Ottawa: Celebrating in a Campground

Moving from house to boat
June 29, 2015August 23, 2026Lorraine Escher

Moving from House to Boat: Our Family Camping Gap Month

June 28, 2015August 18, 2026Lorraine Escher

Shipping Gear from Canada to the USA for Our Boat

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On This Day

  • 1 year ago todayGrade 6 Essay Sample: Soufrière Hills Volcano, Montserrat

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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