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: Travel and Destinations

Travel and Destinations transports you to the places we’ve explored. More than a sailing log, my writing aims to let you hear the voices, see the sights, smell the air, and feel as if you’re right there with us.

Ethical tourism: Maurice Brazil Prendergast, Eight Bathers painting.
June 20, 2023September 17, 2026Lorraine Escher

Ethical Tourism in Fiji: Eight Women and Unequal Worlds

Julia from SV Tribalance inspects her soup as it cooks
May 28, 2023July 25, 2026Lorraine Escher

Savusavu Hot Springs: Cooking Stew in a Geothermal Vent

Lorraine is offered Kava drink from the chief during a Fijian sevusevu welcoming ceremony in Savusavu.
May 26, 2023October 15, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sevusevu Ceremony in Fiji: Reluctant First-Time Kava Drinker

Fierentino Para Anchor: Stopped sailing image
May 24, 2023July 28, 2026Lorraine Escher

Fiorentino Para Anchor: Our Overnight Stop Before Fiji

Heavy weather sailing: Paul on the deck of SV Aphrodite
May 19, 2023October 8, 2026Lorraine Escher

Heavy Weather Sailing at Night: New Zealand to Fiji

Fear at Sea: looking up through a hatch on SV Aphrodite
May 18, 2023October 8, 2026Lorraine Escher

Fear at Sea: Finding Calm in Heavy Weather

Sleep deprivation at sea: Spectacular sky underway on SV Aphrodite, a St. Francis 50 catamaran, during Our Pacific Crossing from Panama to New Zealand.
June 18, 2022July 27, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sleep Deprivation at Sea: 4 Watch Methods We Tried

Betty from St Francis 50 catamaran Aphrodite swimming in Chuuk Lagoon.
June 11, 2022July 30, 2026Lorraine Escher

What Lies Beneath? Barnacle Busting Outside the Galapagos at 2,000 Meters Deep

Colour striations on the Sierra Negra volcano hike on Isla Isabela, Galapagos.
June 9, 2022September 25, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sierra Negra: Hiking in Darwin’s Footsteps on a Galapagos Volcano

Betty and Karen on the Galapagos Day Trip
June 6, 2022June 6, 2022Lorraine Escher

Jumping into the Water of the Galapagos Was Like the Best Exhibits in the Zoo Had Thrown the Doors Wide Open

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On This Day

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

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From the Archives

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