The Kaufman family aboard SV Rebel Heart was rescued at sea this week when their youngest child became sick during passage from Mexico to the Pacific. This news has spawned ...Read more]]> “Let the naysayers know that there is no greater gift you can give your children than the beauty of the world.” Cruising Mom, Cidnie Carroll

The Kaufman family aboard SV Rebel Heart was rescued at sea this week when their youngest child became sick during passage from Mexico to the Pacific. This news has spawned a media frenzy with many people criticizing a life they know little about.

Cruisers have rallied behind the Kaufmans and the choice of the cruising life, and cruising families have sent Cidnie photos of their children living this unique and precious life on the sea.  Enjoy this window into the amazing life of cruising families.

• A site has been set up for those who want to help the Kaufmans:
  Help the Kaufman Family (FundRazr.com) 
• Eric and Charlotte Kaufman’s blog:
  Rebel Heart
• A podcast interview/story with the Kaufman family.
  525: Call For Help (ThisAmericanLife.org)

Want to read more about cruising families:

• When Boating With Young Children, by Rachel Lee Harris (New York Times)
• 2 Tots, a Sailboat and a Storm Over Parenting, by Jennifer Medina (New York Times)
• In Defense of Rebel Heart, Cruising Families and Choosing a Life Less Ordinary, by Jen Brett (Cruising World)
• Video: Sailing Consultant Defends Kaufman Family Rescue (Inside Edition speaks with Pam Wall)
• Raising a Child Dangerously, by Diane Selkirk (Slate.com)
• Baby On Board: Cruising with Kids and Dangerous Parenting, by Brittany Stephen-Meyers (Windtraveller blog)
• What Sailing the World with My Kids Has Taught Me About Risk, by Michele Elvy (WhatToExpect.com)
• Growing Up at Sea, by Ania Bartowiak (New York Times)
• In Support of Babes On Boats (ItsANecessity.net)
• Are we crazy? by Victoria Bradford (ForgeOver blog)
• Rebel Heart–A Reality Check (Landfall Voyages)
• Twelve Questions for Twelve Cruising Families (Women & Cruising)
• Voyaging in a boat with young children, by Emmanuelle Buecher-Hall (PDF, published in MultiHull World magazine)
• Crossing Seas with Kids, by Amy Schaefer (Sail)
• Bluewater Families: Cruising with Kids, by Patricia Zumstein (Sail)
• Cruising with Teens – Part I, by Meri Faulkner (Hotspur blog)
• Cruising Children Speak (Women & Cruising)
• Cruising Families, by Gwen Hamlin (Women & Cruising)
• A Mom looks back on the decision to go cruising as a family, by Behan Gifford (Women & Cruising)
• Debunking the Baby Myth, by Michelle Elvy (S/V Momo blog)
• Video: Kids speak their own minds about cruising (Women & Cruising)
• Elli Straus shares her logbook from her family’s year of cruising (Women & Cruising)
• Books by Cruising Children:
  – Child of the Sea: A Memoir of a Sailing Childhood, by Doina Cornell
  – Boat Girl, a Memoir of Youth, Love and Fiberglass, by Melanie Neale

Growing Up at Sea, by Ania Bartowiak (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/13/opinion/sunday/growing-up-at-sea.html?src=rechp&_r=1

There is a fantastic two-day seminar on long distance cruising that is coming up in three weeks and Women and Cruising is a part of it. The seminar has a number of unique aspects.

The first is the incredible line-up of speakers. You will have a chance to learn from

This year the conference is about women extending their range. That ...Read more]]>
The Women’s Sailing Conference, held each June in Marblehead, is great fun. I’ve been involved one way or another many times. It amazes me how many women come back year after year. It also astounds me how quickly and enthusiastically women learn from each other.

This year the conference is about women extending their range. That might mean different things to different participants:

• First overnight cruise
• Doing all the navigating for a short trip
• Going to Maine for two weeks
• Crossing the Gulf Stream
• Moving aboard

The one-day conference – Saturday, June 1, 2013 – will be moderated by Beth Leonard, long-time and long-distance sailor and Technical Editor for BoatUS publications.

Panelists are

• Capt. Sharon Renk-Greenlaw, owner of Women Under Sail in Maine;
• Capt. Nancy Erley of Seattle, founder of Tethys Offshore who has twice circumnavigated with all-women crews;
• and me, Betsy Morris of Marblehead, a long-time cruiser.

There’s more information available at www.womensailing.org, including the registration form. There’s a nice discount for those registering before May 15th.

I can’t wait to see who’ll attend this year.

I’d like to let you know about the Cruising Women program that Pam Wall, Beth Leonard and I will be giving at Cruisers University on April 25-26 in Annapolis, Maryland.

Last April, as Pam Wall and I finished our second year as faculty at Cruisers University, (a fun weekend in Annapolis of in-depth courses ...Read more]]>

I’d like to let you know about the Cruising Women program that Pam Wall, Beth Leonard and I will be giving at Cruisers University on April 25-26 in Annapolis, Maryland.

Last April, as Pam Wall and I finished our second year as faculty at Cruisers University, (a fun weekend in Annapolis of in-depth courses to prepare people for cruising), we were approached by Paul Jacobs, the director of Cruisers University and manager of the Annapolis Sailboat and Powerboat Shows:

“I would like you two to put together an in-depth two-day program on cruising, just for women.”

TWO DAYS! Imagine what we could do in two whole days –MUCH, MUCH more than is ever possible in a one hour Women and Cruising seminar! Of course we were excited! But….

“We want BOATS – we don’t want to do this all in a classroom – we want to take women aboard several boats, and spend time aboard learning about the equipment and routines aboard. To see it, touch it, use it…”

“Fine”, said Paul.

“And”, we said, “We would like to invite our good friend, Beth Leonard, to join us – together the three of us would make a fantastic team. We want to give women a variety of perspectives to help each woman find her own unique answers.”

“Excellent”, said Paul.

Since then, Pam, Beth and I have been planning how to make the most of this fantastic opportunity to introduce women to, and prepare women for, cruising.

We women approach cruising from various perspectives. For some of us, it was first the dream of our husband, or boyfriend or partner, and our first question was “What is cruising like? Do I want to do it?” For others, it was an individual or joint dream – we LIKE the idea of cruising, but don’t know if we are skilled enough, smart enough, young enough, rich enough, brave enough to pull it off….

And for yet others, we KNOW we want to go cruising, we know we can do it, and we want to acquire the skills and knowledge so we can get out there and make a success of cruising.

This course is designed for all of these women, to answer their questions and needs. First of all, we are going to introduce you to cruising, help you learn what it is like, in all its variations – aboard sailboat and powerboat, cruising close to home, or to the Caribbean, or around the world – sailing with your partner, or family, or by yourself. We are going to cover the skills that you need to acquire and help you figure out what you know already and what you still need. We will spend time aboard several different boats, in small groups, learning about the equipment that we live with, discussing daily routines, what works and what doesn’t.

And most importantly, you will have LOTS of time to ask your questions and to raise your concerns about cruising. This is a very personal, and fun course. We will talk, laugh, tie knots, heave lines, poke around with equipment, discuss ALL your questions and practical issues – and come out of this whole weekend ready to understand the cruising life to make your dream come true.

We hope you can join us – the Cruising Women 2-day program will take place, during the Annapolis Spring Sailboat Show, April 25-26 in Annapolis, Maryland, as part of the 4-day Cruisers University.

Registration for this unique event is through Cruisers University. For those of you who might want to attend Cruisers University as a couple, there are programs on Diesel Maintenance or Weather (or other elective classes on Friday) that your partner might want to attend while you are in the Cruising Women program. And there are lots of elective classes that either of you can attend after the class on Saturday and Sunday – everything from outfitting to weather to cruising the Bahamas or Caribbean.

For more information, contact Cruisers University, or Nancy Grisham at 410-263-7802. You may also contact me, Pam Wall or Beth Leonard for more information on our program. We look forward to a fun and rewarding and empowering weekend with you!

Best,
Kathy Parsons

About us

Kathy Parsons

In 20+ years of live-aboard cruising, Kathy Parsons has sailed the US, Bahamas, Caribbean, Central and South America aboard four cruising boats ranging from 30 to 42 feet. Kathy Parsons is well-known in the international cruising community for her books Spanish for Cruisers and French for Cruisers – language guides used by thousands of boaters around the world to help them communicate as they sail in foreign countries. Kathy is also the founder of the Women and Cruising website and seminars. The WomenandCruising.com website provides resources, advice and inspiration for women sailors. Over a thousand women (and men) have attended Women and Cruising seminars, getting answers to the questions they have about cruising.

Contact: kathybparsons@gmail.com

Pam Wall

Pam Wall was raised in Chicago sailing summers with her father on Lake  Michigan.  While attending University of Wisconsin she became the first  woman president of the Hoofers, the sailing club at University of Wisconsin.  Pam had their honeymoon sailing her husband Andy’s 30 foot sloop across the  Atlantic.  Three years later they sailed home from Europe to begin building  KANDARIK their Freya 39, hull number ONE!  In 1985 Pam and Andy set out  around the world on KANDARIK with their two children.  Six years later they  returned to Fort Lauderdale, and Pam got a job at West Marine as the  Outfitting Manager and Cruising Consultant.  Pam can be seen at boat shows  across the country giving seminars with Kathy Parsons and her own seminars  on outfitting, cruising, product knowledge and more.  Check out her  web-site, www.pamwall.com

Contact: pam@pamwall.com

Beth Leonard

Beth Leonard is the Director of Technical Services for BoatUS and Technical Editor for all BoatUS publications. Before joining BoatUS, Beth and her husband, Evans Starzinger, completed two circumnavigations and logged more than 110,000 nautical miles. Between 1992 and 1995, they sailed westabout by way of the Panama Canal, Torres Straits and the Cape of Good Hope aboard their Shannon 37, Silk. They spent four years ashore building their 47-foot aluminum Van de Stadt Samoa sloop, Hawk, before leaving again in 1999. They completed a ten-year, eastabout circumnavigation by way of all of the Great Capes that took them as far north as the Arctic Circle and as far south as Cape Horn. Beth has written hundreds of articles for more than a dozen sailing magazines including Cruising World, Practical Sailor, Good Old Boat, and Yachting World. Beth is the author of three books: The Voyager’s Handbook, Following Seas and the award-winning Blue Horizons.

Contact: bleonard@boatus.com
Website: www.bethandevans.com

Cruisers University will be held in conjunction with the new Annapolis Spring Sailboat Show and will offer 4 days of seminars to prepare you for cruising.

Pam and I are part of an impressive line-up of instructors, including Nigel Calder, ...Read more]]>
Join Pam Wall and me for an amazing weekend in Annapolis April 26-29!

Cruisers University will be held in conjunction with the new Annapolis Spring Sailboat Show and will offer 4 days of seminars to prepare you for cruising.

Pam and I are part of an impressive line-up of instructors, including Nigel Calder, Lee Chesneau, George Day, Herb McCormick, Gary Jobson, Cindy Wallach, Liza Copeland, John Martino, Jim Drury and many others.

You can attend the 3-day Cruising Preparation series, the 4-day Master Cruisers series, or the 1-day Cruisers Education series. There will be both classroom and on-board classes. There are technical series of classes covering diesel maintenance, electrical systems and modern navigation, plus cruising destination series (Bahamas, Caribbean, etc), and many individual seminars.

Pam and I thoroughly enjoyed Cruisers University last year and are excited to be back again this year. The energy and enthusiasm in the seminar rooms is contagious and our discussions are always lively and in-depth.

Cruisers University catches attendees at a crucial point: the men and women attending have a dream to go cruising but it is still an uncertain dream. Over the course of the weekend, they learn so much that the dream becomes a shared plan, and attendees leave eager and prepared to make their dream a reality. I love being able to contribute to that transformation. And what better place for it all to begin in than in Annapolis, truly a sailor’s town and home of the big Fall Annapolis Boat Show!

Here are the seminars I will be giving at Cruisers University:

Provisioning and Storage Strategies

Friday, April 27: 1:45-3:00pm
Saturday, April 28:  1:45-3:00pm

Instructor: Kathy Parsons

Provisioning, trivial ashore, becomes a key skill for successful cruising. We will discuss provisioning from start to finish, beginning with factors that affect what you will (and won’t) want to take: where you plan to cruise, how you cruise, your eating and entertaining style, your boat, storage space and equipment (eg. refrigeration and freezer space or lack of). Avoiding LOB (lost on board) – strategies and systems for organizing, stowing, and inventorying (manual, computerized, and app-based). Preserving what you have aboard (vacuum sealing, drying, storage containers and systems). Reprovisioning in foreign countries: making use of local products, major reprovisioning areas, duty-free areas, shipping parts and supplies in, what you can get where. Plus lots of useful handouts and downloads to help you get started including provisioning lists of food, supplies and spares, multilingual reprovisioning lists, etc.

What Works: Tips and Techniques for Long-Distance Cruising

Saturday, April 28: 8:00-9:15am

Instructors: Kathy Parsons and Pam Wall

Sometimes it is the little things that make all the difference. With decades of cruising and tens of thousands of miles under their keels, circumnavigator Pam Wall and Caribbean/Bahamas cruiser Kathy Parsons have learned lots of little things that make cruising safer, more comfortable, more successful. In this seminar, they will share some of their favourite tips, techniques and gear. You
are bound to learn many new ideas to plan for and improve your cruising! Here are some of the
areas they discuss:

• Anchoring – Hand signals, marking chain, snubbers and bridles, anchoring safety
• How to Pick up a Mooring
• Docking and Line-handling
• How to heave a line
• Motoring and Motor Sailing
• Night watches: Keeping watch, jacklines and harnesses, lighting, getting a good night’s sleep
• Passagemaking and navigation tips
• Saving our Backs, Enhancing our Strength
• Fresh water: Hauling water, Water Collection
• Deck Organization: Mast rails, Mast steps, Ratlines, Whisker poles, Preventers, Lazy jacks and Cradles
• Solar Panels and Wind Generators: Where do you put them
• Fresh water: Hauling water, Water Collection
• Ventilation, Lighting and Shade
• What you need in the Cockpit
• Dinghy and Outboard
• Fishing: What to take
• Staying Safe

Attendees will receive the extensive, illustrated “What Works handout” detailing and illustrating the tips covered in the seminar.

Tips for Women Cruisers

Saturday, April 28: 9:30am-10:45am

Instructors: Kathy Parsons and Pam Wall

How do you navigate through the thousands of questions you face as you prepare to go cruising?
By talking to experienced cruising women who have “been there” and are eager to share what has worked for them. We will answer your questions about cruising – from skills, attitudes, common fears and roles aboard, to outfitting, planning for departure and dealing with home and possessions, passage-making, safety, provisioning, seasickness, communication, finances, health and life afloat. Attendees will receive an extensive handout full of tips and resources to help you plan and to make the most of the material covered in the seminar.

The Bahamas: Cruising the Exumas

Saturday, April 28 12:30-1:3pm

Instructor: Kathy Parsons

The Exuma island chain is the favorite part of the Bahamas for many cruisers. Many return year after year while others visit the Exumas as they island hop down to the Caribbean. The Exumas offer hundreds of beautiful white sand beaches, excellent diving and fi shing, many small friendly Bahamian settlements, and gorgeous anchorages. In this seminar, we will cover everything you need to know to plan a cruise to the Bahamas. Attendees will receive a handout with resources, lists of charts and cruising guides, provisioning information, transformation recommendations, weather services – all you’ll need to know for cruising the Bahamas.

The Exuma island chain is the favorite part of the Bahamas for many cruisers. Many return year after year while others visit the Exumas as they island hop down to the Caribbean. The Exumas offer hundreds of beautiful white sand beaches, excellent diving and fishing, many small friendly Bahamian settlements, and gorgeous anchorages. In this seminar, we will cover everything you need to know to plan a cruise to the Bahamas. Topics covered include:

• An overview of the Exumas: where to go and how to sail the chain
• How to get to the Exumas: sailing routes from the US. Clearing into the Bahamas
• The best charts and cruising guides
• Weather: the best weather sources for sailing the Bahamas, as well as how weather patterns in each season determine how you sail the Exumas
• Preparing your boat: outfitting and provisioning to cruise the Exumas
• Availability of provisions, fuel, water, and supplies
• Best places to have guests fly in
• Skills needed such as: reading the water, anchoring, cold fronts, navigating, playing tides and currents
• The best of the Exumas for fishermen and divers
• The best of the Exumas for family cruising
• Keeping in touch while you sail the Bahamas:  (wifi, ham/sideband radio,  cell phone voice and data, hotspots, nets)
• Regattas and other events: Georgetown Cruisers Regatta, Family Island Regatta, Farmer’s 5F Regatta
• Onward from the Bahamas: where you might go next….

Attendees will receive a handout with resources, lists of charts and cruising guides, provisioning information, etc.

The Well-Found Galley

Sunday, April 29 11:00am-12:15pm

Instructor: Kathy Parsons

The galley is the heart of every cruising boat. It is the one part of the boat that gets used every day whether at sea or in port. This seminar will help you make the most of your galley. We will discuss everything from layout to refrigeration, from dishes, to pressure cookers and other equipment. You will receive handouts listing gear that cruising women consider essential aboard (and what they took off their boats!), and the things learned along the way that make cooking aboard and provisioning easier, safer, and more enjoyable.

If you are in the process of shopping for a boat, you will learn what to look for and what your main decision points in the prospective galley should be (including a checklist of considerations). If you are preparing to go cruising, you will learn how to equip your galley, what’s worth packing and what you can leave behind. And if you are already out cruising, you will enjoy seeing how others do things and pick up new tips.

* Friday, April 27 – Cruising World Magazine – “Making A Boat A Home”

Pam Wall and I are both participating (among others) in the Cruising World sponsored Luncheon Program: “Making A Boat A Home”

Read also on this website

• Women and Cruising seminars
• Galley Advice from 18 Cruising Women

More information (external links)

• Cruisers University

I will be offering a SPANISH FOR CRUISERS webinar through Seven Seas U September 26 – October 17  (6 online evening classes on Mondays and Thursdays)!

If you are cruising to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba,  or Spain this season, this course will give you an excellent jump start on  Spanish.

You will ...Read more]]> ¡Hola!

I will be offering a SPANISH FOR CRUISERS webinar through Seven Seas U September 26 – October 17  (6 online evening classes on Mondays and Thursdays)!

If you are cruising to Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba,  or Spain this season, this course will give you an excellent jump start on  Spanish.

You will arrive in country knowing the most important words and  phrases for the sorts of things we cruisers do – clear in and out, fix the  boat, shop the markets, travel inland, chat up the locals. Plus you will have  learned the building blocks that allow you to build your own sentences to meet  your needs.

Get what you want at the market		Talk with the authorities		Get boat parts fixed (Photo: Marcie Lynn)

Travel inland		Make friends (Photo: Ellen Sanpere)		Get what you want at the hardware shop (Photo: Marcie Lynn)

This webinar is an ideal format for us cruisers who are  spread all over the globe. All you need is Internet to attend.

• We will meet online for 6 evening classes (1.5 hours per class).
• If you can’t make every class, you can log on later and listen to the recording and then  meet me on Skype office hours to practice or ask questions.
•  Plus you will have  access to all audio files, handouts, flash cards and class recordings long  after the webinar is over so you can keep practicing and learning.

We offered this webinar for the first time in June-July and had students from the Canary Islands to Vancouver. It was a big success with total  beginners as well as cruisers who already knew some Spanish.

You can read  feedback from the first group of students on Seven Seas U. But this response  from one student will give you a feel:

“Thank you so  much for the wonderful classes. You’ve given us such a great start on learning  Spanish and we are determined to continue working with all the super helpful  materials you’ve provided.  

That last class was amazing – it’s like a  light bulb came on when you showed us how to put the verbs together with the  mini-conjugations we had already learned and open up a whole world of being  able to communicate in sentence form!”

Duration: 6 – 1.5 hour sessions
Date: Mon.-Sept. 26, Thurs-Sept. 29, Monday-Oct. 3, Mon.-Oct 10, Thurs.-Oct. 13, Mon.-Oct. 17 at 20:00 Eastern or 17:00 Pacific (GMT 00:00)
Instructor: Kathy Parsons
Course Fee: $90 – SSCA Members or with discount code Parsons15 (Regular price $105)

Want to learn more or sign up? Here is the link to the  course description and registration at Seven Seas U: Spanish for Cruisers: Language Skills for Boaters

Have  questions? Email me at kathy@forcruisers.com!

Buen viento y buena mar, (Fair winds and seas)

Kathy Parsons
Author, Spanish for Cruisers and French for Cruisers
La profesora

11 good reasons to learn Spanish:

What is this flamenco singer singing about? Answer: That she can’t get a baby sitter!

1. So you can find  the parts you need and fix your boat.
2. To make friends with local people.
3. So you aren’t relegated to the “local cruiser handlers”  who drive cruisers around in taxis, but can be a free-range cruiser and feel comfortable exploring on your own.
4. So you can eat and drink really well.
5. So you can travel inland on your own.
6. So you have enough Spanish to be courteous to people and don’t come across as abrupt or rude.
7. Because another language gives you another life:
   “One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.” ‒Frank Smith
8. So you can solve mysteries:
   ‒”What are these people doing in a glass house in the middle of this esplanade of Santo Domingo?
   ‒They are filming a reality show for Spain.”
9. To get what you want.
10. To get help if you need it or to be able to help others.
11. Because you can!
    Becoming fluent isn’t easy, but learning enough to communicate and have fun is DOABLE with the right approach!

About Kathy Parsons

Kathy Parsons is author of the books Spanish for Cruisers and French for Cruisers – language guides used by thousands of boaters around the world to help them communicate as they sail in foreign countries.

Cruising experts including Jimmy Cornell, Beth Leonard and Bernadette and Douglas Bernon have called the books indispensable for world cruising.

A popular speaker and teacher, Kathy has given Spanish for Cruisers classes to boaters in ports from the United States to Venezuela. She developed a French for Cruisers class in conjunction with Alliance Française in Grenada. In 20+ years of live-aboard cruising, she has sailed the US, Bahamas, Caribbean, Central and South America aboard four cruising boats ranging from 30 to 42 feet, currently aboard the cutter Hale Kai.

Kathy is also founder of the Women and Cruising website and seminars.

Kathy loves to teach: She has organized adult literacy classes in Nicaragua, taught English to Nicaraguan high school students, and computers to businesses and government agencies including NASA. She has degrees from the Harvard Business School and the University of Texas, and served in the Peace Corps in Nicaragua.

Read also on this website

• Take your passion cruising: Kathy Parsons’ mission: learn the language (and teach it to cruisers)
• Women and Cruising seminars

More information (external links)

• Course description and registration at Seven Seas U
• Seven Seas University website
• Spanish for Cruisers website: Complete info on SPANISH FOR CRUISERS Second Edition – Features, Reviews, Sample Pages, Sales Info.