January 2015 Loving La Cruz La Cruz has a large and well-established cruising community. The area is lush and beautiful, complete with many merits that sailors find enticing: beautiful scenery and consistent afternoon winds for sailing, islands nearby for snorkeling and diving, good food, and a kind local community. It also boasts a remarkable music […]
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January 2015 It’s dawn on the 15th of January. I’m wrapped in a blanket savoring the few moments of the day when the thermometer drops below 80 degrees. Thousands of silver fish with neon yellow fins dart behind the aft of The Red Thread. It’s the magical witching hour when the seas seem especially alive, […]
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January 2015 It took four tries for Neil and I to set our anchor and to feel comfortable with our holding in the lee of Isla la Peña. After our first unsuccessful attempt, we hauled up the anchor and with it came a large, faded bed comforter. Initially, I was convinced we’d snagged a gargantuan […]
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December 2014 We hauled up our anchor in Isla Isabela while stars still hung in the sky. As is our routine, we put coffee on and let the sounds of the sea fill our ears with music. As the oranges of dawn rolled above the horizon, a pod of dolphins appeared in our bow wake. […]
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December 2014 Gail was the first person ever to join us on a night passage. Adventurous and eager to experience one of the quintessential aspects of our cruising adventure, she was excited to get off the dock and to depart Mazatlán. Two days after Christmas, we exited Estero Sábalo in the late afternoon and raised […]
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December 2014 Neil’s mom, Gail, arrived on Christmas Eve. She was greeted by a typical December day in Mexico: warm breezes, blue skies, and sunshine. In the 10 days that she would spend with us, we would enjoy some of our loveliest cruising experiences to date. Our first few days were spent in Mazatlán. Anyone […]
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December 2014 Let me be honest, we did not truly explore the Sea of Cortez. We sailed across it. That is what this post is about; nonetheless, I couldn’t resist the urge to title this post in tribute to Steinbeck’s famous book, which I started reading during our passage. Are you a little bit proud […]
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December 2014 The anticipation of a long passage tends to be filled with a decent amount of preparation (e.g., weather and route planning, provisioning), a dollop of nerves (e.g., anticipation of sleep deprivation and unforeseen challenges), and a dash of excitement (e.g., will we catch a fish or will there be whales?). For us, the […]
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December 2014 The first light of dawn The only thing I like about arriving in a new harbor after dark is the exhilaration I feel waking to new vistas. Light crept through our portholes at just after 6:30 am the morning of the 10th, beckoning me to crawl swiftly from our v-berth, much in the […]
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December 2014 Skies were blue and winds were light when we left Ensenada on the morning of December 7th. Most of The Umbrella Dumpers departed for Bahia de Tortuga that morning as well, a destination several hundred miles south. Dolphins danced in our bow wake, escorting us out of the bay. By noon, we had […]
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December 2014 We are in the center of the fleet as the sun melts into the horizon. The sails of our good friends on s/v Namaste look like wings under a pink sky with an early-rising moon. Ahead of us are s/v Sea Rover II and s/v Kialoa, two Canadian couples whom we met just […]
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After two days in Avalon, we began planning our next passage. We enjoyed our time in Avalon so much we had considered staying longer. Unfortunately, I had developed a mysterious rash all over my body, except for my face, and I was pretty distressed by the physical experience of the rash and its dreadful appearance. […]
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Just an hour ferry ride from the glitzy streets of Hollywood, Catalina Island is a favorite vacation spot for the glamorous and not-so-glamorous (ahem, grubby cruisers like us) alike. The island has an interesting history and a sexy reputation. For three decades, the Chicago Cubs traveled to Catalina for spring training, and Norma Jean called […]
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Anticipating a long day sail from Smugglers Cove to “Cat” Harbor on Santa Catalina Island, we got moving early. By 4 am, our French press was percolating, and we were underway. The sky was clear and full of stars, lighting our path out of the cove. There was just enough breeze to fill our sails, […]
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We weighed anchor and departed Santa Barbara on a breezy, blue-sky morning. It felt surreal to be back underway after our heart-wrenching trip home to Seattle. When we arrived back at The Red Thread two evenings earlier, we were greeted by a silly “Welcome Home” poster and colorful, homemade stars dangling from our ceiling, all […]
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"The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea." –Isak Denesen
Author, Poet, Satirist, Social Commentator
follow our family on our sailing adventure.
"The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea." –Isak Denesen
gad·a·bout ˈɡadəˌbout/ noun a person who travels often or to many different places, especially for pleasure.
A publishing project of SF Creative Writing Institute
Sharing stories about how the pandemic is affecting you.
Musings and tales from the high seas
Sailing in Search of an Endless Sunrise
"The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea." –Isak Denesen
"The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea." –Isak Denesen
The Adventures of SV Cariba and her crew.
"The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea." –Isak Denesen
A family of four traveling the PNW aboard our 40-foot sailboat
Sailing adventures and photography
"The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea." –Isak Denesen
Sailing around the world, can't open a tin!
Nomads. Full-time RVers. Former cruisers.
Sail with the Flo - from England back to England - via the rest of the world
"The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea." –Isak Denesen
"The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea." –Isak Denesen
"The cure for anything is saltwater – sweat, tears, or the sea." –Isak Denesen
A Wandering Life
Sailing the world with kids
The adventures of Mia, Jon and Teo on Itchy Foot
Life is too short to say later. And winters suck.
POOP DECK: Because we give a SHIT
s/v The Red Thread 