a family sailing around the world
Predatory skippers abuse crew. They are the small minority, but happen often enough that a recent incident prompted gathering information about ways to screen a skipper, tactics to take, and how to try and land in a safe crewing situation.
In the scale of disasters to prepare for as cruisers, a lot of energy goes into worrying about storms. Yet in 18 years cruising, Jamie and I have yet to experience a storm. We have, however, been impacted by three tsunamis. Would you know what to do? This is what we learned about how to better prepare after our most recent event.
The unscripted nature of cruising life is alternately liberating and challenging. Dividing our year between Micronesia and Japan, it wasn’t the only binary in those wildly disparate locations. Here’s a peek into a cruising year, some metrics and stories.
Ideas from our cruiser community to inject enthusiasm to a cruise planning timeline, and make the most of the destinations that you experience after setting sail. Just maybe it will help fill gaps your holiday gifting list, too!
Totem’s news from Japan - and, some guidance to boost individual safety for boats in the Caribbean.
A stalk of bananas swinging at the back of a cruising sailboat is a kind of merit badge cruisers dream about. But it’s the generosity of islanders which shines through here. Our experience in Micronesia is encapsulated by the sendoff ceremony from Yap’s Lamotrek atoll. Included: our method for canning banana puree to preserve it.
We cleared into Japan just over a month ago, a process so thorough we thought it would satisfy any official needs for months. But since that clearance, unexpected visits from officials requesting information, paperwork, photographs, and to board and inspect Totem—on FOUR occasions in four weeks—is our lived experience. Why? And why does it matter?
Micronesia, sprinkled with lush green islands and… no greens! This salad lover did not fully appreciate how few fresh fruit and vegetables would be available for our months in this beautiful region. Here’s what to expect, how we are coping, and what we are enjoying.
Ah, the cruising life, an extended holiday in beautiful places! Well, not exactly: it is a highly differentiated existence, one that fluctuates between extremes of uncertainty and joy, discomfort and ease, and is peppered with magical moments. 2024 held all those extremes: here are highlights.
Holidays from home come with us as world travelers; sometimes they are easier to replicate than others! Here’s what American Thanksgiving looked like in the wild western Pacific islands this year.
Wondering what to get the cruising sailor (or liveaboard) in your life this holiday season? Most of us boat folk are minimalists, which makes us notoriously difficult for gifting. There's no room for excess on board! Here’s our hand picked list of recommendations for 2024.
Clearing into the Marshall Islands: unique as any, with lessons for cultural awareness on the side.
A mysterious sound from our sailboat's rudder prompted an unexpected stop at a destination that is best referred to as, well, creepy! Johnston Atoll's legacy is sobering, but it provided the security we needed to inspect and repair if needed. What happened? How did we diagnose it? What's next?
It’s been a month since we initially expected to depart Hawai’i. Good thing we’ve had time to internalize that oft-repeated phase in the cruising community: “plans are written in the sand, at low tide.” Reflecting on the various causes of delay reminds me how helpful it is to practice patience while cruising: here are a few examples from around the world of how that plays out.
Updating Totem’s standing rigging wasn’t an intentional part of the 40-year refit. We re-rigged a few years previously, in anticipation of sailing the South Pacific in 2020. When preapring to launch in late 2023, Totem’s backstay changed that! What happened, cautionary tales, and why we chose synthetic rigging to replace it.
This passage - nearly the same distance as Mexico to Marquesas - was a significant milestone! What went well, what broke, and what’s next? Detailing the joys of dolphins and rainbows, tempered by almost losing our genoa to Neptune, and reflections voyaging again.
Time to share details of the swallows inked up my left leg almost exactly a year ago. I’ve let just a few sneaky peeks on social media, despite the questions. I wanted to keep the tattoos to myself for a while. Here they are, along with lore about sailors and tattoos, and swallows in particular.
Looking for an explainer on using Starlink while sailing your boat around the world? How to combine it with offshore communications tools for safety at sea? This outlines modifications, installation, service plan(s), and other comms - aboard Totem and in the wider cruising community.
Planning to go cruising? Don’t get a pet! Bringing a pet when you want to sail around the world adds complciation. But maybe it’s a forgone conclusion because a dog or cat is already a member of your family: if you will have a pet aboard, here’s what we’ve learned in the process of adding a cat to Totem’s crew.
We’re rolling out a series featuring “after” insight from Totem’s massive refit - starting with the forward head. The smallest cabin has very big changes, and is a showcase for many of the decisions shaping our refit overall.