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We bought our first sailboat, a tiny 15 foot Coronado, from a toothless fat man in a white unmarked van outside of an empty Westminster parking lot. For $500. Trailer and sails included. To say Bravo is an improvement on that first choice is an understatement. Andy and older sis figuring out how to re-rig… Continue reading From Stagecoach Reservoir to Fiji: Sailing chronicles of a Tica 

There are 2.1 billion people in the world without sufficient access to potable water, and we are two of them. A lack of access to potable water invokes images of women and children walking for miles with jugs over their heads or shoulders, arid landscapes, and families gathered around questionable sources. The image we don’t… Continue reading Lessons aboard: what sailing has taught me about potable water

It’s hard to write about the sensory experience of sailing when sitting at the boat yard. The beeping alarm of a loading truck backing up, the smell of diesel and paint fumes, the blistering sun on my darkened and dusty skin. Wax in between my fingers. Acetone deep in my nostrils. This is the sensory… Continue reading A feast for the senses

Captain James Cook first caught sight of Niue in 1774 but had quite an unsuccessful landfall. Niueans were traditionally very protective of their island and met vessels with suspicion and hostility. Cook and his men were received by a band of local warriors covered in what appeared to be blood. To add to their ferocity,… Continue reading Behold the Coconut!

I can’t remember the last time I had a salad. A giant sized portion of leafy greens sprinkled with a rainbow of options. Was it in San Diego? No, we had fried chicken. Was it in Mexico? No, I’m sure all I ate were tacos. I can’t remember because I didn’t make it memorable....because I… Continue reading The saga of the dead potato

We left Bora Bora for Niue in the tail end of a front, which we then hit, and rode the wake of its aftermath. For most of our 1100 mile passage, we had 10-15 ft swells abeam at short intervals (e.g big waves one after the other, approaching us on the side) wind speeds averaging… Continue reading The Savage Passage

It's ironic how fast time seems to pass by, considering we move through life at an average speed of 5.5 miles per hour. We are half way through our year, and our time in French Polynesia is officially over. We spent our last month sailing through the Society Islands: Tahiti, Mo'orea, Huahine, Raiatea, Taha'a and… Continue reading The Society Islands

M: If the Marquesas post was called “Paradise found”, what am I going to call this? A: Paradise found... again. Paradise-er. Paradise 2.0. Landfall in the Marquesas was obvious: there’s a monster mountain in front of your face. After a very mellow 3.5-day passage, land ho in the Tuamotus was harder to spot.... here you… Continue reading Holy Fakarava, that’s a shark!

Bonjour, bienvenue sur le Marquises. Excusez-moi s'il vous plaît. Je ne parle pas français. Je suis un ignorant américain. Thank goodness the ‘smile and nod’ is universal and that the Marquesans are a friendly and patient people. We hired Tahiti Crew to process our customs, immigration, and bond exemption paperwork, so despite our serious language… Continue reading Paradise found

Land ho! Land ho!!! LAND HO!!!!! At 2300 UTC we spotted the island of Hiva Oa through the haze. Deeply immersed in a Gillian Flynn novel, the moment from haze to right in front of my face passed in an instant. We arrived with enough remaining sunlight to see this small island in all its… Continue reading Day 19.3 – Land ho!