August 2016 Our pantry stocked with a few fresh vegetables, we slipped our mooring in Neiafu at one o’clock in the afternoon and wound our way peacefully through Vava’u’s mosaic of emerald islands under a sky speckled with cumulous clouds. The beauty of the Vava’u group is undeniable, and left no mystery as to why […]
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September 2016 I wiggle my toes into the sand, wedging my feet into the course granules of earth. If I don’t, I’ll topple over! I’m squatting beneath the branches of palms and scrub—spending a penny, if you will. On the evening breeze drifts the harmony of a sun-kissed, booze-primed chorus of sailors somewhere down the […]
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August–September 2016 Anchor by numberWe said goodbye to David, Hika, their daughter, and their now-operational outboard and motored away from Vaka’eitu through the picturesque mosaic of islands that is Vava’u. The anchorages are known by numbers, rather than their Tongan names, probably to make it less laborious for westerners to make sense of the place, […]
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August 2016 My fists are clenched tighter than the strands of a monkey fist, as I march upright through the water column like a toy soldier shrink-wrapped in neoprene. I always feel a twinge of nervousness when I dive, and when I’m particularly anxious—like now—I revert to this awkward, inefficient posture that belies the fact […]
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August 2016 It’s dawn on our first wake up in Niue. I clamber to the cockpit, wrapped in a Turkish towel for a blanket and feeling the after-effects of just a bit too much “hooray-we-made-it” celebratory rum. I’m hoping to spot a whale or two, and I do, far in the distance. –Jessie When we […]
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August 2016 Splashing alongside Red Thread’s hull raises my attention, and I pop up to investigate. A most colorful fish swims alongside our boat, a grin spread across its face. “Hi there! I’m Betty-Ann. You can call me B-A, as in bad ass.” “I like her already,” I thought to myself. Every morning, B-A climbed […]
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August 2016 Prowling for behemoth crustaceans Torches in hand, half a dozen of us followed Harry and Pae through the palm trees. The moon shone fondly over the sea, but the paths beneath the canopy were a web of shadows and tripping hazards. Neil and I were sharing a flashlight, and I stuck close behind […]
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July 2016 It’s black out, pitch black, aside from a delicate, sparkling necklace strung along Bora Bora’s shoreline and a single incandescent pearl set in the heavens. It’s 1 am, and it’s raining. Behind a duvet of heavy clouds, a sea of stars is obscured, but the full moon refuses be disguised tonight. Ping, ting, […]
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June 2016 No one wants to rush Mark. There’s something fabulous about watching someone have an absolutely fantastic time. Right now, he’s the friend who dances unabashedly, eyes closed, when no one else is on the dance floor. Lost in the moment; hips swaying. Who wants to bust in on that rhythm?! Mark kicks and […]
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May 2016 We hoped the overcast morning sky would clear as the day warmed, but even if it didn’t, we would not be deterred by a bit of drear today! We had a field trip planned – we were off to visit the pearl farm we’d learned about during one of our long walks on […]
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May 2016 Trees on this floating mountain (the literal meaning of “Mangareva”) have dug their roots into the very edges of the lagoon, where fertile soil covers volcanic stone and dark coral. Palm and banana fronds stand between bushy pamplemousse trees and waxy-leafed breadfruit branches that stretch beneath towering giants with long, splayed needles, the […]
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March 2016 Our passage to from the Galápagos to Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile, tried our perseverance like no other passage we’d experienced. The trade winds had more south in them than we’d anticipated, so for most of the passage we close-reached, sailing 55 to 75 degrees off the wind in 18 to 30 knots. […]
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March 2016 If you tilt your chair at an angle of 35° and imagine living for [11 of 14] days with your kitchen dining room and bedroom tilted at that angle, and then suppose that it is all being bumped about like an iron-wheeled cart pulled over boulders, you will get a fair idea how […]
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March 2016 Having bid adieu to Lori in Puerto Ayora and spent a few days tackling pressing projects aboard, we weighed anchor on a blue sky morning and sailed for Isla Isabela, our final Galápagos port. Our 50-nautical mile passage was smooth; too smooth, in fact. We motored 75% of the time.With the motor on, […]
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February 2016 We didn’t expect to adore the Galápagos’ most touristy island, but we did! We explored the town of Puerto Ayora, walked some of the most incredible stretches of beach we’ve ever seen, marveled at the marine iguanas, trekked through a lava tunnel, saw giant tortoises in action (literally and figuratively) in the wild, […]
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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.
Story telling with data and pretty graphs
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
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.
s/v The Red Thread 