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 readers – sharing what she has learned on this trip while it is fresh in her mind. Thanks, Debbie!

Yes, I’m sure I learned a lot his winter, my first solo trip to the Bahamas.

I’m also sure that I knew some of these things before setting out for the Bahamas, but I now REMEMBER that I knew them.

Lessons along the ICW

The learning experience did not take long to begin.

I left Oriental, North Carolina in October heading south along the ICW (Intracoastal Waterway) and on my second morning out I ran aground.

What did I learn?

That I have to pay very close attention to currents, and I learned that TowBoat US towing insurance is a wonderful thing to have.

Also, that I can call TowBoat US before I run aground when in unfamiliar waters, and they will advise me and give me the local knowledge that I need.

Day three and another lesson.

I’m still not real sure exactly what the lesson was that day. But I did learn that you can call TowBoat US two days in a row and they keep coming to help!

What actually happened was that my anchor became fouled on something on the bottom.

After much maneuvering on my part, and advice from my buddy boat that was circling around, I could not release the anchor from the bottom. Thus, Towboat US.

Unfortunately, they also couldn’t retrieve my anchor and I had to cut the anchor chain leaving behind 30 feet of chain and a perfectly good anchor.

The area I was in was not such that I could dive on the anchor, and the cost of hiring a diver would not have offset the loss of the chain and anchor.

So, I guess what I learned was: Always have a spare anchor, which I did have.

Most of the rest of the trip down the ICW from North Carolina to Florida was uneventful. I managed to anchor, pick up moorings and dock alone without mishap.

My new chartplotter

The entire trip taught me that the new chartplotter I had added last year was an excellent addition to the equipment.

The chartplotter made all navigation easier, both in the ICW and in the Bahamas.

It was especially useful in the ICW on the day I got caught in the fog.

In the Bahamas

I can navigate through the narrow passes in the cays of the Bahamas with confidence and the chartplotter makes it so much easier.

When the anchor chain was wrapped around a coral head in a beautiful anchorage, I learned that I needed assistance.

And that’s okay, because friends and fellow cruisers are always ready to help anyone in need.

It’s a comfortable feeling, knowing that that support group is always there should you ever need it.

I learned that I will run aground and, no, there may not be a towboat handy. I learned that I can get myself off the sand and handle the boat and myself in uncomfortable situations.

I have learned that I can evaluate the weather predictions and choose safe anchorages for the weather conditions.

Do I always get it perfect? No.

But I learn each time and survived the less than perfect anchorages and each time I get better at making those anchorage decisions.

I learned that the Bahamas are beautiful, that the weather is not always perfect, that cruisers everywhere are wonderful, and each successful day adds to my feeling of self-confidence.

See you next year in the Bahamas.

About Debbie Leisure

Debbie Leisure sails her 29′ Island Packet, Illusions single-handed. Originally from Missouri, she sailed the Eastern Caribbean for five years. The island of Carriacou holds a special place in her heart.

Recently, Oriental North Carolina has been her home base. She spent this winter in the Bahamas (Abacos, Exumas and Eleuthera), and when she leaves the Bahamas this Spring she plans to sail back to North Carolina for hurricane season.

Related articles (on this website)

• Debbie Leisure learns to sail her boat single-handed
• Single Women Sailing – Part 1 (Admiral’s Angle column #27)
• Single Women Sailing – Part 2 (Admiral’s Angle column #28)
• What Debbie Leisure likes most about cruising
• The Need to Know: Sheri Schneider is on her own in the Pacific after her husband is evacuated (Admiral’s Angle column #17)
• Doubt and the Thrill Zone (Admiral’s Angle column #7)

What have you learned lately?

Let us know. Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.

My first sail was on May 24^th 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 not functioning. A long time sailor and racer told us shove her off the dock and go sailing.

That first day was uneventful, the sailing was nice, and sailing to the dock went well.

Sailing to the dock was something we continued to do even after we had a motor, to keep in practice and because that little boat was so easy to handle.

Our second sail was a different matter.

The winter before we launched Thetis, we had taken courses.

I knew all the correct names for things and some basic navigation skills but really had no practical experience. One sail does not count.

On that second day we ran down the reach under the genoa. It was a nice little run. As usually happens in that area the wind picked up, and when we turned to head back I felt the boat was over pressed.

An unsuccessful tack put us too close to a point, at least that is how it seemed to me.

At this point I began being frightened, which was heightened when my husband said we need to raise the main.

I thought (not understanding the balance of the sails) that if we were hard pressed with one sail, two would be entirely too much.

That was of course wrong…but since I was already scared I did not really process what was being explained to me.

The wind was picking up, white appearing on the water. We were heeled hard over, sailing on her ear as the saying goes. Very dramatic, at least to me, the wanna be sailor.

The main went up, the boat behaved better, until the genoa began to tear. Mark wanted me to steer while he changed head sails, I wanted to do the sail change.

The reach had become quite lumpy with the bow going up and down, all I could think was if it goes wrong and he goes off the boat, I don’t know enough to be able to get him out of the water!

It was May and the waters in Lake Ontario are very cold at that time of the year.

I knew where I would run out of water, but that would not help a man overboard. This was a terrifying thought to me.

As I followed the calm concise instructions of Mark I began to hum the theme from the old TV show Gilligan’s Island. (If you are unfamiliar with this song or show, see end of post.)

Sail changed down to a working jib, we made our way to our dock and sailed up to it quite nicely once again.

I decided on that day, that I had to learn more about sail handling and boat handling. It was clearly unsafe to do anything else.

I still hummed that tune whenever I got nervous, and I kept on sailing.

I also became the wind watcher…scanning the horizon for signs of wind changes, mostly looking for the signs of increasing wind, so we could change down sails, before becoming hard pressed.

The same conditions we encountered on my second sail would not be frightening to me today, which is not to say that I never get nervous.

Sailing more and learning more each time helps me feel more competent and less nervous.

Gilligan’s Island

Quite a few of us grew up watching the TV show Gilligan’s Island.

(In case you are unfamiliar with this 1960′s sitcom, five passengers and two crew set sail on the charter boat Minnow on a three-hour cruise. They shipwreck in a storm and take refuge on an uninhabited tropical island where they remain stranded throughout the series.)

And perhaps it has affected our view of cruising. Here is the theme for Gilligan’s Island, thanks to YouTube.

I have been living aboard Witchcraft, my Tom Colvin designed ketch for the last six years. As soon as my four children were launched my husband (Mark) and I emptied the house, and left the land behind.

We are not full time cruisers since we are not retired. I work at West Marine Canada which gives me the opportunity to combine work and pleasure.

I live in Canada and sail every chance I get. I came to sailing later in life and found a new passion.

Visit Ruth’s blog: www.mytb.org/svwitchcraft

Related articles

• How We Learn – Women tell us how they have learned the skills they need to sail and cruise (here on the Women and Cruising blog)
• The Need to Know (Admiral’s Angle column #17 )
• Getting Started (Admiral’s Angle column #3 )
• The Life Skills of Black Sheep (Admiral’s Angle column #12)
• Learning to Sail (Resource Listing on Women and Cruising’s Resources page)

More info

• Ruth’s blog: www.mytb.org/svwitchcraft

What helps when you feel afraid? What challenged you to learn to become a good sailor?

Leave a comment below or email us: kathy@forcruisers.com

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 actually looking for a cruising partner.

While on my first phone call with Don, I learned that people actually lived on boats. What a novel idea! It had never occurred to me.

Don’s life goal was to go cruising. He tried to explain that concept to me, how two alone could sail to wonderful exotic places together.

Since I am a social sort of person, I was immediately concerned about being separated from [other people and] my friends. However, Don’s inspired answer, “We will be in Paradise, with an extra bedroom…” settled me down so that I could listen to the remainder of the sales pitch from him.

Don was convinced that I would make a good cruiser.

I was a certified scuba diver, an avid horseback rider, a sky diver, a water skier, a snow skier, and a lover of traveling.

He also quickly learned that I am frugal, and I love to try new things. Cruising is an excellent venue for both, as I have learned.

Right off the bat, Don lent to me the book Blown Away by Herb Payson. He writes with great humor about his family’s hard lessons and misadventures as new cruisers. It is a fun read that leads you to believe that anyone can indeed cruise.

He also had me read Lynn and Larry Pardey’s books for a more serious look at the good and bad possibilities. I was hooked, but being a newbie to sailing I needed to get on track to cram sailing knowledge in my head.

Don suggested that I take the beginning boating courses offered by the United States Sail and Power Squadron in Columbus Ohio.

As a self-taught boater who was already distance sailing on the Great Lakes, Don did not feel it necessary to take these courses. However, realizing that he would become my hands on teacher, he decided to take the courses with me to avoid confusing me later with contradictory practices and jargon.

Believe it or not, at the time we joined the Columbus Squadron they were the largest Sail and Power Squadron in the USA, vying for that distinction with the Fort Lauderdale, Florida Squadron. That is pretty amazing since Columbus is land locked, with the nearest big water being Lake Erie almost three hours north of the city. But, lucky for us, our Squadron was blessed with many excellent experienced blue water boaters as instructors.

We ended up taking almost all of their courses together. Basic boating, Seamanship, Piloting, Advanced Piloting, Sailing, Weather (very hard but excellent), Engine Maintenance, Marine Electronics, and began but did not finish, Junior Navigation (offshore and celestial).

I highly recommend those courses, as they can be done in the winter when you can’t sail in many parts of the U.S. and they are very reasonably priced. You may not meet a lot of cruising sailors in the Sail and Power Squadron, but you can make lots of friends who will encourage you.

For Christmas 1993, Don gave me training with a female captain, on “our” boat.

Patty Moore from Sea Sense, the sailing school for women, came and stayed with us on SOUTHERN CROSS for two days to train me “hands on” on our boat.

Many times, learning from your significant other can be difficult; think back to trying to learn how to parallel park from your parents, not a pretty sight that is for sure.

Learning to sail from your significant other can be the same, but worse, because the experienced partner may not have the patience to share the tasks that the learner needs to practice.

Take my advice and try to learn basic boat handling one on one from someone who is trained to teach, and preferably on your own boat. This I highly recommend.

Don was allowed on the boat for half of one day while we practiced a man-over-board drill. Once he was off the boat, Patty showed me how to pivot the boat and how to dock, among other things.

Leaving our home marina in Port Clinton Ohio for the last time; setting out to go cruising. I am behind the wheel.

Prior to Patty I had NEVER docked, ever. Now I am the primary pilot and Don is the line handler.

Docking is still a bit of a nervous time for me, but I continue to practice so much that Don complains that he will forget if I do not let him dock once in awhile. Actually, neither one of us get to dock much as we anchor out most of the time.

While we were both still working hard to accumulate a cruising kitty we tried to take three-week vacations.

We are out exploring in the Bahamas.

The first seahorse I found. I was snorkeling in the Bahamas.

Since the boat was located in Lake Erie we would head north to Lake Huron, the North Channel, North Georgian Bay or perhaps Lake Michigan, usually covering about a thousand miles.

We sailed one week to get there, a week to have fun and then a week to get back. This helped to give me an idea of what the cruising life might be like. No, it is really not live aboard cruising, but it was the best facsimile we could do.

Those trips and a few bare boat charters in the Caribbean or the Bahamas in the winter really kept us focused on our goal.

There needs to be Joy in your work and plans.

For me, not being afraid to get my hands dirty and a willingness to learn new and different things was a great asset to learning to cruise.

I will admit I feel I am lucky in the partner I have.

Don is an excellent teacher, as he taught coal miners about electricity, and he has a wonderfully calm and cool personality. He rarely gets upset and does not yell. So I am indeed blessed.

About Dierdre Atkinson Wogaman

Dierdre Wogaman

Dierdre  sails with her husband Don Wogaman aboard SOUTHERN CROSS, their 1974 Dickerson 41 ketch. Designed by Ernie Tucker of Oxford, MD near the Dickerson plant this is the very first Dickerson 41 and was the last wooden boat Dickerson built.

Don bought the boat from her original owners, Neville and Louise Lewis who sailed her around the world with their son Chris aboard from 1975 to 1979. They sold SOUTHERN CROSS in 1984 to Don and then he moved her from the Chesapeake Bay to the Great Lakes.

Retiring and selling out of house and horse, Dierdre and Don moved to northern Ohio, Port Clinton to be exact, to be near the boat to finish prepping for cruising. In July 2002 they moved aboard and actually dropped the dock lines on October 17, 2002 to head east and then south.  It was not quite quick enough as they ran into some very cold temperatures along the way going through the Erie Canal.

Dierdre & Don are passing by the Statue of Liberty after having transited the Erie canal.

Not straying too far from Ohio, due to Don’s elderly parents’ failing health, kept them in the Chesapeake Bay that first winter. Subsequent years they sailed the East Coast from as far north as Cutler Maine and as far south as the Dry Tortugas and around Florida’s west coast up to Clearwater, following the seasons.

By 2006 it was time to venture further a field to the Bahamas, and then later to the Caribbean. One winter in the Bahamas and over two years in the eastern and western Caribbean finally made them feel like they were really cruising.

It has been a glorious time and thoroughly enjoyed, and after 7 years, 22,000 miles and countless new friendships they still feel like they are just getting started.

Now they are tied to a dock in Oriental, North Carolina’s sailing capitol, while remodeling the interior of the boat to prepare for future adventures. If you are in the area be sure and give them a shout. dndonwogs@gmail.com

Read also on this website

• Getting Started (Admiral’s Angle column #3)
  Examples of how (and when) some experienced cruisers got started show you don’t have to be a life-long sailor to take off cruising.
• Why Kim Hess Got her Captain’s License
• Debbie Leisure learns to sail her boat single-handed.
• Peace of Mind—Emergency Skills (Admiral’s Angle column #4)
  Basic boating skills every woman who boards a cruising boat should know how to do.

More information (external links)

• Blown Away by Herb Payson
• Larry and Lin Pardey’s books
• United States Power Squadron
• Seasense Boating School: The Women’s Sailing and Powerboating School
• Learning to Sail Resources (on this website)

How did YOU learn your sailing/cruising skills?
Let us know. Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.

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 years into our cruise to the Caribbean, that I suddenly realized the many things I didn’t know how to do.

Several very important things.

I had never picked up a mooring single-handed, never sailed alone, never changed the oil or bled the fuel lines without supervision, and very importantly, I had never, no never, docked the boat.

I made the decision to keep the boat and single-hand, but I have to admit, did not take any real steps to make that a reality.

I was very good at sitting on the boat, attached to a mooring, in Carriacou, Grenada.

I was okay at sailing with friends on board to crew for me.

But most of the skills that I was not sure that I had and needed, I had to be FORCED to learn.

A step

The first time I went sailing alone, I was supposed to be in the company of two or three other boats.

I left earlier on the sail to Union Island, as I was the slowest boat and they would be right behind me. However, they were all delayed in their departure, and I was anchored for hours before anyone else arrived.

I had completed my first sail, with no major problems; I had anchored alone with no advice or assistance.

I would not have planned it that way, but it turned out well and gave me confidence.

Another step

Upon leaving the dock one day after taking on water, a friend came on board to assist me in picking up the mooring again.

However, after getting underway, he informed that I was never going to learn to pick up the mooring alone if everyone kept helping me. So being the good friend that he was, he was going “to do nothing” while I did it alone.  Of course, he was right. He offered a little advice and sat back to watch.

I picked up the mooring without his assistance, gained confidence and never asked anyone again to help me.

Again, I was “forced” into learning a skill and attempting a maneuver I was uncomfortable with, and came away feeling much better about my abilities.

And another step

It was about this same time, that Nolan, from the haul-out yard, came out one day in his dinghy to advise me that he was ready to install my new electric windlass if I would just move the boat to the dock.

As he started to motor away, I called him back and explained to him that I did not dock the boat alone, had never docked the boat alone, and he must come onboard to assist me.

Even with assistance, I was not confident in my ability to dock the boat, as I had never docked the boat when my husband was alive and had only docked it a few times since then with experienced people onboard telling me exactly what to do.

However, Nolan had other ideas.  He patiently explained that he was sure that I could dock the boat. He said he would go wait on the dock for me and if I needed assistance, he would “walk on water” to come help me. Since I have great faith in Nolan’s abilities (I firmly believed that I could not dock the boat, but Nolan COULD walk on water), I agreed to do it his way.

I approached the dock with trepidation, but there stood Nolan along with three others from the haul-out yard to help me. Of course, just as Nolan had said, I docked with no problems.

Again, I was forced to learn and acknowledge my abilities that I didn’t even know that I had.

It seems most of my learning has been that way.

Forced to do what has to be done, when it must be done.  I seem to learn best the hard way.

But with the help of many friends, sailors, workers and strangers, I continue to learn.

Heading North

I left Carriacou, Grenada, in January 2007, having made the decision that it was time for Illusions and I to return to the States.

I had a wonderful buddy boat to travel with, a boat as slow as I was. It took me six months to sail from Carriacou to Puerto Rico.  Some of the stops were just for fun; many were for working on the boat. Either working on things myself, or finding professionals along the way.

I had engine problems, blew out a sail, broke a dinghy davit, and on my one overnight sail the autopilot failed.

All these things happened under way and had to be dealt with alone until I could reach the next island and assistance.

I learned patience if nothing else.

I stayed in Puerto Rico a year, then continued on to the U.S. I had a friend that crewed for me for the Puerto Rico to Charleston, SC part of the trip. I did my longest passages to date, only making about four stops between Old San Juan and Charleston.

Next Steps

I plan this winter to sail to the Bahamas for the winter.

I try not to think about the things I’ll be forced to learn along the way, but the cruising lifestyle thus far has made it all worthwhile.

About Debbie

Debbie Leisure sails her 29′ Island Packet, Illusions single-handed. Originally from Missouri, she sailed the Eastern Caribbean for five years. Recently, Oriental NC has been her home base, but she plans to sail to the Bahamas this winter.

Carriacou holds a special place in Debbie’s heart. She flew back this August for the annual Carriacou Regatta, saw old friends and had a great time racing.

Debbie helped out at last year’s Women and Cruising Seminar at the Annapolis Boat Show. She shared her experience when women asked about what you need to know in case something happens to your husband/partner. Debbie, along with several other Women and Cruising contributors, hopes to attend this year as well!

Related articles (on this website)

• Single Women Sailing – Part 1: Ways to get into sailing when you are single (Admiral’s Angle column #27)
• Single Women Sailing – Part 2: Perspectives on owning and operating your own boat (Admiral’s Angle column #28)
• What Debbie Leisure likes most about cruising
• The Need to Know: Sheri Schneider is on her own in the Pacific after her husband is evacuated (Admiral’s Angle column #17)
• Doubt and the Thrill Zone: Self-doubt doesn’t rule you out!  Anxieties are not a signal to stop but to proceed more slowly.  We each learn at different rates.(Admiral’s Angle column #7)

How did you learn your sailing/cruising skills?
Let us know. Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.

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.

I mentioned the idea to a friend of mine, and he encouraged me to do it sooner than later. Within the next month, I had signed up and began Sea School.

I do know that a couple of years ago shortly after meeting and having an amazing connection with Suzanne Giesemann, I read her book It’s Your Boat Too.  This book changed the way I saw my role on a boat. It gave me the confidence to take the test (oral and practical) to check out as a skipper at Shake-A-Leg Miami where I had been sailing as an AB (able body) for two years.

	Kim and the Shake-a-Leg Pirate Girl Crew.
	The Pirate Girl Crew share pizza and show off their tattoos after a day on the water.

I initially saw Sea School and the ensuing test as an opportunity to once again up my confidence level. I had plans to cruise whether it be with a partner or by myself, and having very little experience as a skipper (although I am, if I may say so myself, a mighty fine crew), and only having the opportunity at the time to skipper the twenty something Freedoms at Shake, I felt by acquiring the intellectual knowledge, I would then be able to transfer that into practical knowledge when the time came.

For me, the confidence came in realizing how much I already knew, with the most challenging part about the whole process being the paperwork preparation for the Coast Guard. Trust me, if there is even the most remote possibility that you may decide to do this, start right now logging your hours on every single vessel you are on. For those of you that are now cruising or have been, this will be easy. For me, I had to document sea time over the last 20 years of sailing!

Getting my Captains license was definitely a good thing for me, however, unless you have a desire to use it for professional reasons, I highly recommend ASA’s (American Sailing Association) certifications. The information is the same; with an opportunity to apply the information in a practical setting (and be tested on it) is presented. I am a true believer in experiential learning, which is something the Captains license testing doesn’t offer.

Today, I am actively looking for my boat, with hopes to being a live aboard before years end and with my Captains license, I am excited about starting a charter company and getting my ASA instructors certifications so I can share this passion with others.

About Kim

Kim Hess is a sailor, a captain!, a yoga instructor and the author of Yoga Onboard, a practical guide to adapting traditional yoga postures or asana to your vessel. It’s available as a book and DVD.

More info

• Visit Kim Hess’s website, Tropic Yoga or check Yoga Onboard: a guide for cruisers and live aboards at Amazon.com.
• Look for sailing classes and certifications at the American Sailing Association.
• Volunteer with Shake-A-Leg Miami.
• Visit Suzanne Giesemann’s website, Liberty Sails or check It’s Your Boat Too at Amazon.com.
• Check out getting your captain’s license through Sea School.
• Consult the Learning to Sail Resources page (on this website)

Related articles (on this website)

• Kim Hess moves aboard her first boat
• Getting Started (Admiral’s Angle column #3)
• How answering a personal ad led me to become a skilled cruiser
• Debbie Leisure learns to sail her boat single-handed.

How did you learn your sailing/cruising skills?
Let us know. Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.

My plans were changed when I got very ill with gangrene of my small intestine and almost died.

While I spent 51 days in the hospital, 41 where I couldn’t eat, I decided that if I got out of this crazy health jam I was in I would sell everything and buy a bigger boat and just go sailing! Wasn’t sure if I would even live until 55 or be healthy enough to sail then.

In 1993 I sold my house, bought a bigger boat that I have now, and sold the smaller boat, a Hunter 27.

I began saving money and preparing to get totally debt free to go sailing.

Part of the process was to get to know my new boat, make modifications in preparations for cruising and learn all there was to know about diesel engines as I had only had experience with outboards in my previous two boats.

I also wanted to see if I would enjoy living on the boat. My parents and family thought I had lost my mind. I would take the boat out for long weekends and two or three week vacations to try and get the feel of what it might be like if I went cruising.

My friends at the marina where I lived, suggested that I put an SSB/HAM radio on the boat

…so that I could communicate and get weather while I was cruising. I bought the books to study and passed my General class HAM exam.

Then I bought an SSB/HAM radio and talked to a bunch of people about how to install it and then I put it in. There weren’t any books to teach me how to install it or how to use it for that matter so I asked a lot of questions and did a tremendous amount of searching to find information.

In one of the sailing rags, I read about a new technology that would allow you to send and receive emails through your SSB/HAM radio so I went ahead and bought a radio modem and tried to install it and use it. That was daunting and I didn’t figure it out by the time I left.

In November of 1997, I slipped the dock lines for the final time and went off into the sunset, solo and alone.

I was really nervous but very excited at the same time. I had anticipated all of the maintenance issues and the boat behaved very well as I day sailed down the coast of Florida.

I came into Boot Key Harbor the day after Thanksgiving and was so exhausted after dodging crab traps in the Florida Bay and seeing the harbor so full of boats at anchor that I wimped out and took a slip. I think I slept for about 14 hours I was so pooped. When I was scoping out the harbor I realized that I needed to set two anchors. Never in my cruising life to date did I ever have to set two anchors and I realized I needed to consult Chapman’s to read about how to do that.

I finally left the slip and went into the Harbor and then many things on the boat went bust. Batteries, depth sounder and so forth. I fixed all of that but the weather was pretty wicked and the windows to the Bahamas were pretty slim. I tried to leave for the Bahamas several times and just gave up as the actual sea state was too nutty and winds from the wrong direction.

In 1999 I was ready and left for the Bahamas.

I did have a crew member who had come highly recommended as she had soloed her boat down from the Carolinas and had been to the Bahamas with her boyfriend several times. Turned out she didn’t know jack shit about navigating or sailing and she probably was the deck lizard on the trips to the Bahamas.

My crew member and I made it to Bimini, then to Great Stirrup where I spun an outboard prop. Then on to Spanish Wells to try and buy a new outboard for the dinghy. We also went to Royal Island and goofed around there for a while. Then left for Abaco and entered North Bar biting our nails all the while as we entered the essentially unmarked inlet surrounded by reefs and rocks.

After we got to  Marsh Harbor, Hurricane Dennis was bearing down on us and my crew mate bailed which had been discussed prior to setting out.

So, I was alone during Dennis but not really. I had found new friends on the HAM radio and in the cruising community.

The boat and I weathered the storm well and then set out alone to Green Turtle Cay two weeks later.

The day I got to Green Turtle, I was delighted to see some friends I had met in Marathon. We got together for supper that night and I felt pretty darned good about life until I heard the weather report on the HAM radio the next morning.

Hurricane Floyd had formed and was making a bee line for my location.

The HAM mentors I had met on the radio warned that this one would be life threatening for anybody on land, let alone on a boat. So, I stripped the boat and prepped her hoping that she would survive and then called on the VHF to try and find somewhere on land to evacuate to.

I got an offer for shelter from a nice guy Jim and dragged all I could drag off the boat in the dinghy to the cottage. The hurricane was brutal with 155 mile an hour sustained winds and gusts to over 200 mph. Whew! My boat did great.

For the next two weeks I was on the HAM radio providing health and welfare traffic to and from the islands. I made many more friends in the Abacos from my efforts but in doing so I missed a lot of the good food that the restaurants were grilling as they had lost power! Rats!

Then I decided it was time to go back to the States for a while and I left with a couple of other boats I had met.
We all slowly made it to Old Bahama Bay and the weather was pretty crummy for a crossing. We even tried once and it was just too rough. So, we all came back to West End and just goofed off and snorkeled and had pot luck dinners waiting on the weather.

One morning the dockmaster came over and said, “Get tied up quick! Another hurricane is coming!“

“Oh shit” was the general sigh. We all made fast to four poster slips and spidered in after we had a look at the weather channel forecast. The marina was a great hurricane hole for this hurricane, Jeanne I think was the name and we all walked around during the storm taking pictures and shaking our heads about the trifecta of hurricanes we had all suffered through.

I guess I really liked Boot Key Harbor so I went back there to lick my wounds and try to beef up my cruising kitty. I found work at the local hospital and began working six months in the Fall and Winter and taking off the Spring and Summer months. In my off time from the hospital, I sailed back to the Abacos. It was easy solo sailing where I could run for 12 hours, anchor and sleep and get up and do it again.

I got the idea in the Abacos that I should write a book about Marine SSB radio

… how to use it as there were no books about it on the market. So, I started writing the first book. Then, in 2003 I finished the “green” book about radio email. In 2005 I revised the first Marine SSB book and in 2008 I published the The ICOM M802 Radio Manual for “Idi-Yachts”
and a murder mystery, Murder At Stacy’s Cove Marina.

I began doing seminars at the boat shows on Marine SSB radio to demystify the device and help folks learn to use it. People began calling on me when they came to Boot Key to assess their SSB installation and teach them how to use their SSB.

I’ve been caught in a few more hurricanes in the Abacos; in 2004 Frances and Jeanne and in 2005 in the Florida Keys; Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma. The boat did well once again. Luck is where preparation meets opportunity.

Life is good!
Cheers
Marti B

How did you learn to sail and to handle and maintain your boat?

I took a sailing course that I won in an auction to benefit the Arthritis Foundation in Tampa, FL

To maintain my boat, I met a mentor who was my neighbor at my first marina when I bought my first sailboat, a 23′ Hunter. He was a retired fellow that was delighted to coach me through all of the things about sailing and boat upkeep and repair.

Did you start out with sailing/boating experience early in your life?

My father didn’t swim and was raised on a farm. He never had any interest in boating. My mother swam but also had interest in boating. My god parents liked to go out fishing in the Great Lakes in Michigan but they never took me out. Rats! I guess I got hooked on the water by watching Lloyd Bridges on TV.

What were the skills that you found hardest to learn? How did you tackle them?

Diesel repair and maintenance. It was a weird struggle to overcome some strange message in my head that told me I shouldn’t or couldn’t do this. Had to learn to take off my learned stupidity as a woman.

What advice do you have for other women who may be interested in doing what you have done?

Read, ask questions, take the risk and push the envelope. You’ll make mistakes but you’ll learn or you’ll sell the boat. It can be very empowering!

What kind of boat do you have?

I now have a 31′ Allmand sailboat, full masthead sloop with a three foot draft, 16hp diesel engine.

More info

• Marti Brown’s website with info on her SSB/HAM books and nautical fiction.
• Learning to Sail Resources (on this website)

Related articles (on this website)

• Debbie Leisure learns to sail her boat single-handed.
• Single Women Sailing – Part 1 and Part 2 (Admiral’s Angle columns #27 and #28)
• Peace of Mind—Emergency Skills (Admiral’s Angle column #4)
• Getting Started (Admiral’s Angle column #3)

How did you learn your sailing/cruising skills?
Let us know. Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.