“The breeze brought relief to a warm day on the water in southern Florida, and as we sailed at 9.3 knots in 14 knots of steady wind, tracking a thunderstorm in the distance on radar, we looked at each other with grins on our faces, picturing ourselves in the same position with our girls in a couple of years, only on our own boat.” – by Ted and Jen Wallace
“Why not just go to the Bahamas like everyone else?” There was a definite tone of annoyance in his voice, and I can’t blame him. He was just as confounded as I was after a futile search for a cruising guide to French Guiana. – by Salwa Farah [
Sailing north on their new boat, a pair of cruisers stumble upon a true paradise.
They arrive around mid-morning. A solitary motorboat cruises in, then two, then a dozen. Soon there is a steady line approaching over the horizon. They anchor stern-to along the beach, rafted up three, four and five rows deep. Soon the music starts, a jumble of competing rhythms. The nearby floating bar and restaurant compete for business, delivering drink and food menus as they buzz around from boat to boat. It’s Saturday, and the Brazilians have come out to play. -by Gordon Moon
I would have never stepped aboard Miss Jody had I known we would end up sailing around the world. My husband Ron, a life-long sailor and racer convinced me to go cruising. Our plan was to sail as far as the San Blas Islands in Panama, with the caveat that I could always go home if I didn’t like it. I could jump ship and buy a bus ticket from the Florida Keys back to Pensacola, Fla., and it was relatively easy to return home from the Caribbean. – By Joanne Bush.
Part II: Closing the gap on a seven year journey around the world.
Somewhere along the way we had lost our direction, or maybe I should say, we found our direction. We left Pensacola, Fla. aboard Miss Jody, our Antares 42 catamaran, on a six-month trip to Panama. Nearly five years later, we found ourselves in Phuket, Thailand waiting for the northeast monsoon season to make it possible to start our 4,000-mile trip to the Red Sea.- By Joanne Bush.
A couple takes their first sailboat on a 5,000 nautical mile journey from Argentina to St. Lucia, bringing their passion for fishing along for the ride. A month-long delivery trip up the South Atlantic that Shaun and Neil made on their new Antares 44i catamaran
The first leg was fast and furious; the second was filled with drama and tension as Escapade fought upwind for 11 days; and the third was a majestic climax that the crew dubbed “the best sail ever.”- By Shaun Sullivan.
They weren’t sailors, but they had spirit, and they were ready for a big change. A new catamaran and a couple of continent later, they got all that and more.
“The clock was ticking, and vague notions of a winter home in Mexico weren’t quite cutting it. Canadians Craig Acott and Laurie Bowers knew that they were right on track. They saw retirement looming after Craig’s successful career as a geological consultant and mining engineer and Laurie’s fulfilling years as a teacher and principal. Self-avowed nature lovers, they’d made trips to scope out properties south of the U.S. border. But still. They weren’t sure, and nothing was grabbing at them.” – By Elaine Lembo
“After 25 years of competitive sailing in Australia, I sold the boat and hung up my competitive shoes. But loving the sea and messing about in boats, it wasn’t long before I started thinking about getting a boat to go cruising in.” – By Russ Creagh.
“No one said it was going to be easy. But nobody told us it was going to be so much fun! My husband Bob and myself, and our 5 year old Aussie Mollie, have been living aboard our Antares 44-foot sailing catamaran Leap of Faith in the eastern Caribbean for the past two year.” – by Lynne Walsh
