Category: How We Learn

Women tell us how they have learned the skills they need to sail and cruise.

How We Learn

Your disability is your opportunity

Teresa Carey

I spent last winter in Miami, Florida working and saving for my next big sail.

My goal was to sail to the Bahamas, spend some time exploring the sandy beaches and shallow banks, and then head north, offshore, bound for Martha’s Vineyard. I had summer plans for sailing on schooners in Maine and the Vineyard.

But having [...]

How We Learn, People Who've Inspired Us

The Captain’s Father

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I have learned from many sailors over the years, but none so much as the years I spent in the cockpit of my father’s ‘old classic woodies’ on the Great Lakes.

Being the youngest of 5 and having lost my mother to her nursing career, I tagged along behind the Captain (my father) and learned by [...]

How We Learn

Kim Hess moves aboard her first boat

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“Tonto he was smart, one day said Kemosabe, Kiss my ass I bought a boat, I’m going out to sea.” Lyle Lovett’s, If I had a Boat

I could not wait to make this the ring tone on my phone, and I did November 20, 2009 as the selling broker and I were bringing ‘my’ [...]

How We Learn

Debbie Leisure: What I learned on my first solo trip to the Bahamas

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In September of 2009, Debbie Leisure wrote here on the Women and Cruising Blog about how she learned to single-hand her boat after the death of her husband. At the end of the post Debbie said that she planned to sail to the Bahamas this winter. So we recently asked Debbie to update [...]

Fears and Worries, How We Learn

Ruth Allen's secret weapon against fear: the theme song from Gilligan's Island

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My first sail was on May 24th 1999, I was 41 years old.

My husband had sailed from the time he was a young boy, starting off in dinghies. We had purchased Thetis, a Halcyon 23, restored her and were now ready to sail.

There was one small problem: her engine was [...]

Fears and Worries, How We Learn, Sharing Our Stories

Laurie’s epic journey to conquer her fear of the water

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I don’t know why I’m terrified of water.

It’s not as though I have memories of any tragic or traumatic moment in my life, such as I’ve heard others tell when detailing their fear of the deep.

In fact, I remember a few family outings as a child to Terracina or Sabaudia or even San Felice (Italy) [...]

How We Learn

How answering a personal ad led me to become a skilled cruiser

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In December 1992 I answered one more personal ad in the “Columbus Monthly” magazine, a glossy trendy publication in Columbus, Ohio. I responded by writing a note, as it was before Internet dating and instant gratification. Don called me after receiving that note.

What I did not understand at first was that he was [...]

How We Learn

Debbie Leisure learns to sail her boat single-handed.

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I learned to sail with my husband.

We took lessons together, chartered boats together, bought our first boat together, and then our next boat—the one in which to go cruising.

I learned my “things” and he learned his. We tried to cross-train, and sometimes it worked.

It wasn’t until he died suddenly, a couple [...]

How We Learn

Why Kim Hess got her captain’s license

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I am always being asked what prompted me to get my Captains license or more correctly my Merchant Marine Officers license.

I can’t honestly say when the seed was actually planted or why, but as soon as it was, it began to grow and grow fast. [...]

How We Learn

A medical crisis leads Marti to buy a sailboat and learn to cruise

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In the early 1990′s, I was a single, healthy and athletic woman, making a living in the health care industry. I had planned to retire when I hit 55, buy a cruising boat and sail away to somewhere for fun during the “golden years”.

My plans were changed when I got very ill with [...]