The Women and Cruising Blog » Hobbies

Gardening for cruisers

Bev Feiges — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 21:53:37 +0000

I have always said the two things most cruising women agree they miss most are their children/grandchildren and their gardens.

I dealt with the gardening issue by bringing aboard window boxes and potted plants.

My outside garden, always changing

I put a layer of heavy pebbles in the bottom of the boxes, then put in potted plants in their pots (if they are only going to bloom for a few months), or actually plant them (if they are long bloomers like geraniums).

The rocks are to give enough weight so the box doesn’t tip over or blow away, since the potting soil is so lightweight.

This is my “back porch garden”, and with such limited space as you have on a boat, I give away the plants that are out of bloom.

My flower basket on the galley table.

Inside the boat, I keep some potted plants that do well without sunshine, and I keep a number of them snugged together in a flat basket to eliminate the danger of tipping over. If they are single containers, I stick them down with museum putty, or put them in the sink while traveling.

This has become a suitable substitute for the large garden I had at home.

It is also easy to grow various herbs, like basil, if your preference is to grow something that’s good for dinner.

The other compensations are visiting great gardens along your path of travel, or even taking walks along nearby roads, and photographing the wild flowers you will find.

Everybody is photographing the black iris, Netanhya

As much as I loved the ancient sites we visited in the Med, it was the wildflowers in Israel, and their pictures, that gives me the most long lasting satisfaction. Following are some illustrations, of what I am talking about.


Lotus Creticus	Alkana Strigosa Borignaceae


The Rothschild garden, outside Hifa, Israel	Black Iris, Netanhya

Hope this inspires someone, and makes them realize you don’t have to leave your favorite pastimes out of your life, just because you are cruising.

It opens your doors to a world of plants you would not see if sitting in one spot ashore, and by using your camera, and even searching out the identities of what you photograph, you will have these memories for as long as you wish.

Beverly and David Feiges
Aboard Cloverleaf
Abaco, Bahamas

About Bev Feiges

After 21 years on a Cal-46-3 sailboat, Bev and her husband moved aboard Cloverleaf, their second cruising boat, a 61-foot custom Krogen motoryacht.

Self-described “coastal cruisers”, they have traveled the eastern seaboard from Canada to Florida, much of the Caribbean, and with a little help from Dockwise Yacht Transport, much of the Med, from the Balearics to Turkey, south along the coast to Egypt, through the Suez Canal, as far south as Abu Tieg.

You can read Bev’s blog, “Cruising with Cloverleaf“, at www.feiges.blogspot.com.

Bev is also a contributor to Gwen Hamlin’s “Admiral’s Angle” column.

More information (external links)

Bev and Dave Feiges’s blog: “Cruising with Cloverleaf”
With 60 years of boating experience, Bev and Dave Feiges have seen it all. From racing inland lake scows, to cruising and living aboard sailboats and trawlers for the past 30 years, they have developed opinions on almost every aspect of life on the water, especially with an eye toward the needs of older boaters

Do you have a garden aboard your boat?

Let us know.

Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.

A cruising bookworm loves her new Ebook reader

Carolyn O'Brien — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:03:23 +0000

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. Book exchanges were initially a source of pleasure and out of desperation we were introduced to authors that we probably would not have experienced other than there were no other books available. Some of these same authors have become our favourites.

The world changing event for me happened after a trip home. With my bags packed two days before our departure to return back to the boat, I realized that my bags were overflowing and overweight and I had yet to pack one book.

My reader can hold
about 160 Ebooks in memory

I made an instant decision to investigate and purchase an Ebook Reader. I didn’t want a super deluxe version just one that would provide me with the ability to obtain and carry books that I would like to read without taking up precious space in my luggage.

The reader I chose can hold about 160 Ebooks in memory and has a slot available for an SD card in case 160 books are not enough. It is a paper-like background which allows me to read even in bright sunlight.

One of my favourite features of the reader is that I can choose the font size which is a wonderful bonus as my eyesight seems to have deteriorated over the years.

The best thing is that even with a very poor or weak WiFi connection I am able to download new books in less than 30 seconds. The Ebooks are a fraction of the price of paperback books and new releases are available at the same time or even earlier then in stores.

Since I bought my Ebook reader my husband and daughter have both purchased their own. The initial outlay is not insignificant but over time I think the Ebook Readers will pay for themselves by the reduced cost of the Ebooks . I usually carry mine in my purse and so far the only disadvantage I have observed is that I am turning into a book worm.

Rick and I chose
the Sony PRS-505 model

Rick and I chose the Sony PRS-505 model (now discontinued) and my daughter chose the fancier PRS 600 “Touch Edition”. The Sony reader requires a computer to download the books and works with an iTunes Store-like interface. They support multiple file formats including Adobe PDF’s, ePub, blogs, RSS newsfeeds, JEPG’s, and Sony’s proprietary BBeB (“BroadBand eBook”).

In addition to the new releases and best sellers, it’s easy to find many free books available on Sony’s Ebook store, as well as at public libraries and on other websites.

There are a number of competitors and even more emerging with different features. So while we are very happy with our choices, it’s worth investigating before joining us as ‘Ebook worms’.

About Carolyn O’Brien

Carolyn and Rick O’Brien have cruised aboard their Bayfield 36 sailboat, Wind-Borne III, since leaving Toronto in 2001. They have travelled down the east coast of the United States, the Bahamas, Eastern Caribbean, Venezuela and the ABC Islands.

Although they still venture up and down the island chain, they now refer to Carriacou, Grenada, as their home away from home.

You can read more about their travels on Wind-Borne III’s website, www.Wind-Borne.com

More info

Elena makes beautiful jewelry from the bone and shell she finds on the beach

Elena Puntin — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 21:38:13 +0000

I met Elena several years ago in the southern Caribbean and loved her jewelry. She sent in this contribution to the Women and Cruising site to show how cruising has given her the inspiration, free time — and the raw materials to explore her passions. — Kathy Parsons

My name is Elena, I’m Italian and I’ve been living on my little 33 foot sailing ship (Mabel) with my companion for about 13 years full time. I know all the difficulties and the problems that are implied in this choice.

A few years ago I started using my skills not only for varnishing interiors and rebuilding cabinets but also to do something more satisfying.

Using the tools I had onboard I started creating carved jewelry pieces with the raw materials I found around me, mostly on the beaches, like coconut, calabash, shells and later bone. The latter soon became my preferred material to work with.

People who saw my “little sculptures” liked them so much they started asking me to make some for them.

My hobby has turned into more of a job. It is also a good way to help increase the boat budget.

It has been my experience that some people become bored with the sailing lifestyle at times and wish to learn new things. I have seen informal seminars and gatherings where others have taught painting and jewelry making. The cruisers have enjoyed getting together and experiencing something different.

I am available to share my experience and knowledge with other women who are interested by giving seminars.

I think that this activity of mine, which uses free time in a creative way, is something that can be of interest to your readers.

In the meantime, if you are curious about my little carved creations, please have a look at my blogger: www.elenasjewelry.blogspot.com.

See how Elena makes a piece of jewelry from the raw material to final polishing: The Making of a Piece

Read how other women Take Their Passion Cruising:

An Addiction: The Fascinating Beauty of Seashells
Taking Passions Cruising (Admiral’s Angle column #41)
See the complete list.

What’s YOUR passion? Have you taken it cruising?
Let us know. Email kathy@forcruisers.com or leave a comment below.

Take Your Passion Cruising: Birdwatching

Kathy Parsons — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:10:13 +0000

I have been reading Around The Next Bend, written by Australian cruiser Bernie Katchor. The book tells the story of Yvonne and Bernie’s seven-month journey along the rivers of Guyana and Venezuela aboard their sailboat Australia 31. It’s a fascinating read of travels in an area few cruisers have visited.

Meeting people as warm and adventurous as Yvonne and Bernie is one of the gifts of cruising. I have shared an anchorage with them a number of times, and joined them on several hikes in search of birds.

Yvonne is a great example of how pursuing your passion (in her case, birdwatching) can add depth to your cruising. It gives you a reason to seek out new places and people, and connects you to people who share your interests.

Below, taken from Around The Next Bend, Bernie writes about their birdwatching:

“Watching and identifying birds and animals is a passion, especially with Yvonne. She has documented the names of over 2500 bird species and continues to be just as excited when she positively identifies one she has never seen as she was twenty years ago when we started a hobby that requires binoculars only. …

“We often take people from other boats bird watching and because of Yvonne’s contagious enthusiasm; we have created birdwatchers all over the world who email us to tell us what new bird they have just seen. It gives us great pleasure that these people are now addicted to birds. …

“The Indians of South America not only have excellent eyesight but also are at one with nature. They see a movement in a windswept tree that is different and know at one it is the movement of a bird. We have not the ability to recognize this difference. These people love to accompany us even though they do not understand why we only look at birds and do not eat them. …

Our guidebook was Where to Watch Birds in South America. This book brought us to interesting places where the first question from the locals was ‘Why are you here? Tourists don’t come here.’

We explain our mission and show a picture of the bird we really hope to see in the area. Immediately we have a mentor who searches the village for someone who knows and we are off on a hike for a day or two to find that bird. Birding is a wonderful way to get to know a country and its people.”

Here are a few of Yvonne’s birds:

For more info on Yvonne and Bernie (including more bird and cruising photos):

Bernie’s book: Around The Next Bend: The Rivers And Indians Of Guyana And Venezuela
Bernie’s book at CreateSpace where he offers Women and Cruising readers a discount with code VZBZSY3C Around The Next Bend: The Rivers and Indians of Guyana and Venezuela
Bernie and Yvonne’s website: www.berniekatchor.com

How Yvonne chooses where we cruise
Katharine Lowrie sets sail in search of wildlife
Taking Passions Cruising (Admiral’s Angle column #41)