Q&A: The Big Decision
January 27th, 2010 - by Beth Leonard
Question:
My husband and I are thinking of living aboard a sailboat in four to five years from now. His daughter is grown and just purchased her first home while my daughter is a freshmen in high school.
I suppose it is harder for me to take to the idea of living aboard because I have a really great paying job and I feel I need to help my daughter with college. I am only 39 so leaving my career is harder than I thought it would be. Any advice for me? My husband is 47 and more than ready to leave tomorrow. He is self employed and can build or fix anything so he will not have a problem finding work along the way of our adventure.
I look forward to hearing from you if you have time or advice.
– Judy and John
(Women and Cruising sent Judy’s question to several of our friends/contributors for their thoughts. Here is the first of several responses we received.)
Beth Leonard responds:
 I can really relate to what you are saying – when my husband suggested we sail off into the sunset, we were both working as international management consultants, based out of Sweden.
We were in the partnership window, my job paid extremely well and I loved it – except that it took everything I had and left me no time or energy for other things that were important to me.
…Read more
Events and Seminars
January 21st, 2010 - by Kathy Parsons
 Here’s a great opportunity to meet another Women and Cruising friend:
Janna Cawrse Esarey will be speaking at the 2010 Seattle Boat Show, January 29 – February 6, 2010, at Qwest Field.
Janna is the author of The Motion of the Ocean: 1 Small Boat, 2 Average Lovers, and a Woman’s Search for the Meaning of Wife.
Gwen Hamlin and I both read Motion and thoroughly enjoyed it. Janna has a great sense of humor, and she certainly captures the dynamics of cruising, especially that of a couple learning to live together on a small boat. I highly recommend it!
Janna will be giving seminars on Sunday and Monday. Monday is Women’s Day at the Boat Show!
Here are the details of Janna’s seminars:
…Read more
Events and Seminars
January 15th, 2010 - by Pam Wall
Pam Wall will once again be a presenter at the Sail America Strictly Sail Boat Show at Navy Pier in Chicago. The Boat Show dates are January 28 through January 31. Pam will be speaking on her Family Sailing Around the World, Cruising the Bahamas, Outfitting for Blue Water Cruising. This year Pam presents a new lecture on sailing across the Atlantic on the lovely four masted bark, Sea Cloud!
Details of Pam’s Seminars:
Sea Cloud
Come and join the Trans Atlantic Passage of the lovely and historical yacht SEA CLOUD. This beautiful 367 foot private yacht was built for Marjorie Merryweather Post and is now a charter yacht that works the Caribbean in the winter and the Mediterranean in the summer.
Pam Wall just recently sailed from the Canary Islands to Antigua and wants to share this wonderful 16 day passage aboard the bark SEA CLOUD. Come and see what it is like to cross the Atlantic with the trade winds and enjoy the life aboard a square rigged sailing ship. …Read more
News from Women and Cruising contributors
January 15th, 2010 - by Kathy Parsons
 In case you have been wondering, Women and Cruising has no corporate office. Our webmaster Sylvie works on the website and blog from her boat in the Caribbean.
Our contributors usually send in their posts and articles from their boats, using wifi, a satellite phone, or a local internet cafe.
I correspond with our contributors by email or Skype. Gwen and I often discuss and edit her Admiral’s Angle column while chatting via Skype. …Read more
Interesting Reading, Take Your Passion Cruising
January 10th, 2010 - by Gwen Hamlin
We’ve just posted Admiral’s Angle column #41 to the Women and Cruising site, Taking Passions Cruising:
 “A land lubber might be forgiven for thinking that when we commit to the cruising life our main and overriding passion is for sailing.
Very often this is true, of course, but we are not one-dimensional creatures. We all have other interests, other passions — some long-standing and others we’ve never had time for before. Some will be the reason we go cruising in the first place, while others will be new discoveries. Many will fit easily with the cruising life-style; but others may take a little adaptive thinking.
… Read more
Take Your Passion Cruising
January 7th, 2010 - by Lydia Fell
 If you’re not an animal lover, you may as well skip this particular log entry. Just go ahead and exit the site, or move on to the next post, because what I’m about to talk about will only deeply affect those who have large hearts for God’s creatures.
Here’s a story for you
Back in the fall of 1492, Christopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue and
happened upon Cuba, which he claimed for Spain.
Among the many things he brought ashore were his Spanish horses, beautiful creatures bred for their hardiness, endurance and courageous spirit, and with them, Columbus established two horse farms on the island.
Fast forward 400 years. …Read more
TIPS
January 5th, 2010 - by Kathy Parsons
I’ve just made the “shlep” again – I flew to the US for Christmas to visit family and just flew back to the boat in the Bahamas yesterday loaded down with boat parts. Over time, I’ve found three little things that help.
 1. Luggage Scale
A simple luggage scale makes it easy to weigh each bag and make sure you don’t exceed the airlines’ baggage weight limits.
I realized my Mom truly understood my vagabond lifestyle when she gave me a luggage scale for Christmas one year. She bought it from a travel gear catalog but now some WalMarts even carry luggage scales for about $10. They can weigh bags up to 75 pounds and even have a built-in tape measure for checking bag dimensions.
I always pack the scale with me now so that I can weigh my bags before flying. Many airlines now charge an extra $75 to $100 per bag if your bag exceeds their weight limits (commonly 50 pounds). Small regional airlines often limit you further. …Read more
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I can really relate to what you are saying – when my husband suggested we sail off into the sunset, we were both working as international management consultants, based out of Sweden.
