TIPS
February 6th, 2010 - by Carolyn O'Brien
 My world has changed! |
My world has changed!
After 9 years of cruising the Caribbean I am no longer pleading with visiting family and friends to forsake extra shoes, hats and toiletries so that they can pack and carry the most recent best sellers in their one precious piece of luggage now allowed by many airlines.
I no longer search the book exchanges for a book by any author, in English, that I have yet to read. …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
TIPS
September 4th, 2009 - by Kathy Parsons
I’m going to start off the Favorite Tips category on the Women and Cruising blog with a small project that we’ve found very useful aboard Hale Kai:
Like most cruisers I am superstitious: I figure if I have the all the Users, Service and Technical Manuals for the equipment aboard our boat, I probably won’t need to use them! The problem is that most equipment is shipped with bare-bones users manuals these days. 
However, these same companies often offer the same Users Manual PLUS Service, Technical and Troubleshooting Manuals in Adobe PDF format for FREE download on their websites.
This is a great service for us cruisers who will be maintaining our boats far from service centers.
…Read more
