Preventive Maintenance

Preventive Maintenance

I am months away from leaving New Mexico for parts north, and the sailing season on Kagán. Despite that, and because of a colder-than-normal cold snap in the San Juan Islands, I’m thinking about the preventive maintenance measures I took before I zipped the boat cover...

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Balancing Act

Balancing Act

It was 2:52 a.m. and I was lying awake, orchestrating the next three days and seven hours (roughly the time between then and when we would pull into the ferry line). I was planning, hour by hour, the time I had to finish getting my sailboat, Kagán, put to bed for her...

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The Summer of… Purple Martins

The Summer of… Purple Martins

It seems that each summer, one creature or another comes to us in a way that defines the sailing season. That the wind and weather, the landscapes and seascapes, and their inhabitants distinguish one day from another aboard delights me. I remember—2007 was the summer...

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Behind the Scenes

Behind the Scenes

I love when a fellow sailor pauses on the dock to tell me what a beautiful boat we have. Kagán, however, is not only beautiful, she is also a great sailing, and liveaboard, vessel. But that doesn’t happen without a lot of work behind the scenes. The last few weeks...

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Going with the Flow–Literally

Going with the Flow–Literally

Visiting with a New Mexico friend before leaving the Land of Enchantment for parts north, and the sailing season on Kagán, she asked me how we decide where to go. The answer is that sometimes there are places we need to be on particular dates, and sometimes we have a...

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Outta My Head

Outta My Head

This is a guest post by Holly Moxley, an artist and designer, and my dear friend. Holly usually expresses her thoughts and feelings with brushstrokes, but she switched to a pen for this piece. I hope her words will resonate with you as much as they do for me. Thank...

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Intrepid

Intrepid

Small in size doesn’t necessarily mean small in spirit. Though our house no longer holds our little dog, Capi (who passed peacefully, here, with us by her side, on December 9, 2022), her spirit certainly lives on in it. Capi was undeniably cute. But ask anyone who...

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Wherever I Go…

Wherever I Go…

…there I am, in all my neurotic glory. In early September, in the days after attaining my Coastal Navigation certification with my sailing mentor, Nancy Erley, I felt empowered—a confident captain of my fair little ship. I started drafting a piece titled Empowerment....

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We’re Built For This

We’re Built For This

…sailors are, my mentor and friend, Nancy Erley said, when we spoke the other day. Nancy is a two-time circumnavigator, and the logistics of isolating in our homes is not unlike that of crossing an ocean in a small boat. Nancy is most certainly built for this. We’d...

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Feeling Small – Part 2

Feeling Small – Part 2

Aside from the majesty of the land- and seascapes, there are other ways I feel small during the summers on Kagán. Some feel good, some are less comfortable. Like everyone, what feels good to me is easy to think about and look at, like feeling small in my current...

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