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: Preparing for Cruising Life

Preparing for Cruising Life begins right from the start when we thought about buying a boat, and living afloat seemed like a dream. This category describes the moving parts we lashed together to pack up our house, learn to sail, shop for a bluewater catamaran, refit our St Francis 50, and launch our family circumnavigation adventure.

Front cover of Canadian Circumnavigator Diane Steumer's Book, The Voyage of Northern Magic.
February 16, 2015August 1, 2026Lorraine Escher

Diane Stuemer: Sailed 6 Times, Then Went Around the World

February 14, 2015August 16, 2026Lorraine Escher

RYA Day Skipper Anchoring —Navigating Namely Harbour Safely

Sailing Terms for Beginners: Line drawing by Pearson Scott Foresman [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
February 13, 2015October 15, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing Terms for Beginners: Shrouds, Reefing and Twiddly Bits

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

My little man awaiting stiches
February 2, 2015August 5, 2026Lorraine Escher

Family Sailing Transition: Preparation and Chaos

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

Sailng-knots: Activity display of knot tying at the Canadian Children's Museum in Gatineau/Ottawa
January 26, 2015August 22, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing Knots: A Boring Exhibit Made Them Feel Like Crafts

Downsizing for a sailing life: Inscription on our upright piano.
January 23, 2015August 7, 2026Lorraine Escher

Downsizing to Live on a Sailboat: 220 Boxes and a Piano

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From the Archives

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