Am I Better For It?

Reflection on making such strong relationships and how hard it is to inevitably leave the physical connection of them Have you ever hugged someone for over half and hour, unbroken? I still feel the pain in my body when I broke away from that hug. I couldn’t cry big enough tears, fast enough as we …

Is It Summer?

After spending so many summers in the Florida Keys and California, it’s hard to believe it is summer up here in norther Wisconsin. On the summer solstice I was sleeping in my 20 degree down sleeping bag on an island in Lake Superior. Boy was I happy for that winter bag…  On the phone with …

Shifting Gears

Note: I wrote this draft a couple months ago, but I think it’s still worth posting as I try to get into this blog again. Enjoy a belated reflections post…  It’s been a while. I’ve been away. And by “away” I mean I have been feeling like a former self for a while. I know …

Flight UA114

I look at the distance traveled on the small screen in front of my seat, 3,4138 miles, and realize it’s about 3/4th of what we’ve spent the last four months sailing. We’re now flying it in eighth hours. I’ve never been on an international flight. UA114 was my first, and it had all the usual …

At Least We Still Have Toilet Paper…

Coronavirus is hitting the entire world. Everyone knows this. Even we knew it out in the middle of the largest ocean on the planet. These days, news does not escape even the hardest to reach. The captain and owner of the boat set up IridiumGo, a satellite email and messaging service which allows for communication …

The Night We Flew the Spinnaker

I’ll try not to bog this post down with a bunch of sailing lingo, as I am just learning a lot of it myself and the last thing I want to do is write something no one else will understand. Some sailing context is needed though. A spinnaker is a sail. Sails are used to propel …

Erin’s Take on the Pacific Crossing

Note: This post was drafted up before we learned how the spread of Corona virus would be affecting us. I figured these reflections and thoughts were still relevant and still wanted to share. The next posts will be a truer reflection of our current circumstances once those emails began trickling in. It’s not the being …

Dusty’s Take on the Pacific Crossing

The Coconut Milk Run (Part 1) Day 1 at sea... With noon time fast approaching, a commanding voice over channel 72 ticked down our commencement for the ARC’s fourth and most feared leg: The Pacific crossing, aka “The Coconut Milk Run” amongst yachties— on this side of the world. Over 3000 miles of daunting blue …

A Taste of Life at Sea

My head hits the pillow and wind speeds, wind angles and boom angles, along with a slew of colored lines, dance around in my head. Or maybe this post’s opening line should be... Halyards and rudders and spreaders oh my! But gudgeons and goosenecks, leeches and luffs and clews and cringles... what?! Or maybe... “We’re …

A James Cameron-esk Night Watch

Part of our responsibilities on board include 3 hour night watches. The goal is to always have someone at the helm if decisions need to be made such as sail changes, course changes or, God forbid... we hit something. Before ever joining the boat I knew night watch hours would be a special time for …