Our former boats — Elizabeth, a Bristol Channel Cutter 28 and Daphne, a Nor’sea 27 were fantastic blue water boats! Both designed by Lyle Hess, they are hard acts to follow. Both were built like tanks, and made to go anywhere. In this post I want to talk about a few of their on deck features we really liked, which …
Google Hangout: How Do You Prepare for a Voyage?
Since Ben and I set sail 2 years ago to make One Simple Question we have received thousands of emails from interested, inspired and amazing people. Every single email is a new relationship. Now we want all these people we’ve heard from to connect, discuss, and build stronger, mutually-beneficial relationships. Sooo…we’re going to be doing regular Google Hangouts. Each hangout …
Telltale Signs of a Boat Not to Buy!
How do you know when you’re about to be scammed by someone trying to sell you their boat? The first sign happened when I got out of the car and my wife turned to me and said, “Ben, I just saw him pump a ton of water from the bilge.” I told Teresa to keep quiet and have an open …
Unleashing Women’s Sailing Potential
Unleashing Women’s Potential, originally published in Blue Water Sailing December, 2012 “You’ve got to let me put a few holes in the boat,” I told Ben while wielding the drill in my left hand and positioning it against the bulkhead of his Bristol Channel Cutter, Elizabeth. After several years of solo sailing, Ben and I had finally decided to transition …
Better Than New Year’s Resolutions
Last summer I was instructing a Seamanship Course for Outward Bound on the coast of Maine. The program is rugged and designed to build character, develop leadership and self-reliance, and encourages teamwork. One of the course elements is a Solo. Students spend three days alone in the wilderness with sparingly few things: a rain tarp, sleeping bag, clothing, water jug, …
R.I.P. HMS Bounty – Decision Making at Sea
UPDATE: Dec 9, 2013 For an compelling read on the entire story click here. For a brilliant article on decision making at sea in relationship to the Bounty tragedy, click here…a must read! For my own post about evaluating preparedness, click here. UPDATE: Feb 13, 2013 I wrote this blog post during the chaos of Hurricane Sandy. I heard the …
Shopping for Boats
Its been a few months since Ben and I have lived aboard our own boat and I’m starting to feel very disconnected. While we are working on boats, and living aboard while we work, it just isn’t the same. I’m eager to find our new home. I know many people have been asking what we are looking for, so here …
Boater’s Safety and Education
When people first learned that I bought a boat and set sail all on my own in 2008, they were impressed. “How can you do that,” they asked. “Its so spontaneous.” But the truth is, I had been sailing for many years before that, both recreationally and professionally. I got my feet wet when I was only eight years old, …