Some people take to live aboard sailing effortlessly. Others find it a struggle. Many discover that full time sailboat cruising is challenging and stressful yet enlivening and fulfilling. But how do you know where you will fit in? When your dream becomes a reality will you love it or is there a slight possibility that[Read More]
Life Aboard
Do full time cruisers ever need to take a vacation away from cruising?
I’m tired. I never thought I’d say this but I think my mind and body might be missing winter. During our first year of full time cruising, my husband, daughter and I sailed the Med from April until November. We then wintered for six months in Marina di Ragusa in Sicily. During our wintering period,[Read More]
How often do you share a lice comb with a neighboring sailboat?
When my family and I lived in England we had lovely neighbors. When we drove into our driveway we’d beep the horn and say ‘hi’ and from time to time we’d stop and chat for a bit. If something strange happened on the street, like the time a car crashed into the entrance of the[Read More]
Is sailing around the world isolating or can you develop a cruising social network?
One of my fears about leaving the Mediterranean, other than the fear about spending 18 days at sea to cross the Atlantic, was the fear of not knowing anyone in the Caribbean. I worried that my cruising social network would decline or even disappear. And the cruising social network that I’m talking about is face-to-face[Read More]
What do cruisers panic about – it’s not always about sinking, the anchor dragging, hitting a whale or…
What do cruisers panic about? People that don’t live on a boat probably think that the biggest worry for a full time cruiser, commonly referred to as a ‘live-aboard,’ is about the boat sinking, getting caught in a hurricane, smashing into a whale, getting lost, dragging into the sea or rocks from a mooring or[Read More]
Here’s 40 reasons why living on a sailboat full time ROCKS!
One afternoon while sitting in my cockpit, rocking back and forth (at anchor) I decided to write 40 reasons why living on a sailboat full time rocks. If you need to convince yourself or perhaps your partner on the benefits to sailing off into the horizon, give these a review. In all honesty I’m not[Read More]
20 reasons why being a full time cruiser sucks
Before I get into my 20 reasons why being a full time cruiser sucks, let me first premise this article with the following… My life is more fulfilling now that it ever has been Every day I wake up with a sea view, my family and enjoy new adventures, foods and experiences and life seems[Read More]
There’s no ‘I’ in team, but there is a ‘Me’ – Lessons learned while sailing around the world
Every once in while I have an epiphany or a new way to see my world Usually it’s sparked by an inner niggle that grows, a book that makes me reflect on life differently than before, a comment that someone makes or an experience that knocks me (not necessarily for the worse). A few days[Read More]
How sailing full time has taught me how to take my life off automatic pilot and consciously choose life’s course
The transition from living in the rat race to living full time on a sailboat has taught me some amazing lessons. One of the largest lessons I’ve noted, thus far, is my ability to consciously choose life’s course rather than live life on automatic pilot. In the past I thought I was making choices but[Read More]
Warning: Becoming a full-time cruiser can cause massive heartache – this is why:
These past couple weeks have been emotionally turbulent – overall I’d label my experiences as bittersweet. I thought that sailing around the world, and becoming a full-time cruiser, would present me with new friends, new experience and new memories. Little did I know that I’d feel strong emotions such as sadness, loss and heartache during[Read More]
