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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Our move from house to sailboat began with a roadtrip. Here is a photo of our kids running along the beach of Lake Superior with a banner of our tent and van with the text The Road Trip that Changed Everything, referring to the 60 day camping trip we took the summer before we bought our St. Francis 50 catamaran, SV Aphrodite.
January 1, 2024July 22, 2026Lorraine Escher

From House to Sailboat: How a Family Road Trip Changed Us

A photo of SV Aphrodite anchored in Langkawi, Malaysia
December 7, 2023July 24, 2026Lorraine Escher

St Francis 50 Catamaran Specs: SV Aphrodite, a Bluewater Cat

Galapagos Long Reads with a Close-up of the Feet of a Blue-Footed booby bird
June 12, 2022September 26, 2026Lorraine Escher

Sailing to the Galapagos: 5 Stories From Our Family Boat

Long reads Grenada: A picture of someone walking on a hike in Grenada during a Hash House Harriers run
December 11, 2021September 26, 2026Lorraine Escher

Long Reads Grenada: 6 Stories From Our Sailboat

Why the Caribbean has no tides
February 21, 2019August 1, 2026Lorraine Escher

Why the Caribbean Has Virtually No Tides

Henry with a local Dominican boy outside Wendy's bar near Luperon harbour, Dominican Republic where we spent hurricane season with our catamaran and four kids
December 6, 2016September 26, 2026Lorraine Escher

Luperón Long Reads — Boat Kids Go Local

Building a Mooring: Luperon Long Reads Building a Hurricane Moorring with input an design review by Bruce Van Sant
August 3, 2016September 26, 2026Lorraine Escher

Luperón Long Reads — Designing and Building a Mooring for Our 50-foot Catamaran

Luperon Hurricane Hole: An image of Henry and Paul driving our dinghy with SV Aphrodite in the background next to an image of the track of hurricane Matthew in 2016 when we stayed in Luperon for hurricane season.
June 6, 2016October 16, 2026Lorraine Escher

Luperón Long Reads — Waiting Out Hurricane Season

Exumas Sailing. A picture of Betty and Paul on the beach at Shroud Cay.
May 24, 2016September 26, 2026Lorraine Escher

Bahamas Long Reads — Exumas Stories

Off the beaten track Bahamas: A Nurse Shark that we seriously feared in the Jumentos, Ragged Islands and other islands south of George Town.
May 23, 2016September 26, 2026Lorraine Escher

Off the Beaten Track Bahamas: Sailing Beyond the Exumas

Word of the Hour

Good Water Bottle New word in …

Good Water Bottle

On This Day

  • 10 years ago todayLuperón, Dominican Republic: School Days and an Orange Wagon
  • 11 years ago todayEducating Kids on a Sailboat: Homeschooling Three Grades

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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