Getting Underway

When I first met Peter four summers ago, he called across the dock to me the day after we met and yelled, “Hey Jeannie, wanna go for a sail?”  We’ve been sailing together since then and have faced a few perilous moments together, but overall have enjoyed countless hours, days, weeks planning sailing trips, racing against our friends, rafting up for a post sail gathering, and anchored in a quiet place watching the sun set.

Peter taught me how to sail.  My Dad had sailed and taken us out sailing as teens and adults, but I never really got it then.  A few years ago, my Dad asked, “Has he made a sailor out of you yet?”  I have to say at this point, yes.


Last summer before my first ocean-going trip, our sailing friend Mike handed me a copy of The Sea Wife’s Handbook written in 1970 by Joyce Sleightholme.  At that point, I didn’t call myself a sailor, but I knew how to sail.  I’d been sailing with Peter for three years a few times a week in three seasons and occasionally on a winter day.  So I knew how to sail.  I knew how to take the tiller and drive during a race, how to hoist the sails, how to tack and jibe.  When I first cracked the old book open, I joked that the book was sexist and we all laughed reading such phrases as “the value of a woman who can manage the ship while the skipper gets some rest” (p. 92).  But as we got nearer to the mouth of the Delaware Bay and closer to the ocean, I realized I had no idea what to expect and that’s when I picked up the book in earnest to scan pages that talked about how to keep the night watch and what dangers to look out for on the open seas.

This blog is a place where practical advice for surviving life on a boat will be shared.  Everything from what to expect on a night watch, to the best foods to pack for a longer trip.  How to get in some yoga on the deck or down below and how to mix great cocktails to sip while watching the sun set.  What tools and products make life easier and what little tricks I’ve learned over the years.  And perhaps most interesting of all are the destinations—places we’ve been, places we’re going and places we love going back to.

So welcome aboard!  I look forward to sharing some tips and learning more tips from my blog followers!  Cast off!