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A sailor’s experience is defined by the constantly changing, interdependent relationship between weather and ocean. Sailors read sky and sea, noting the speed and direction of wind, the pull of currents, the height of waves and tides, and the degree of menace carried by approaching fronts. With the aid of sophisticated forecasts and radar, we…… Continue reading What the Ocean is Saying

I received an email informing me that today is Grief Awareness Day. The message exhorted me to contact certain Senators to urge the passage of federally mandated bereavement leave. I am constrained to agree: we desperately need to acknowledge and heal from our individual and collective grief. How could any of us not be aware…… Continue reading Grief and the Peace of Wild Things

Joshua Slocum, the intrepid sea voyager and author of “Sailing Alone Around the World” recorded his 1895 visit to the nearby harbor of Round Pond on the Muscongus Bay, where he rested as “the wind rattled among the pine-trees on shore.” In seeking a harbor of refuge from the approaching Hurricane Henri, Christoph and I…… Continue reading Thoughts Inspired by Circumnavigation

There are certain things one has to give up in order to experience the wild beauty of the remote areas of coastal Maine, and one of them is cell service. As a result, I’ve been missing my participation in a variety of writing groups that I typically join several times a week. In the summer…… Continue reading A Week in Haiku

When living aboard my sailboat, after about three weeks, time begins to loosen and stretch. Days have a surfeit of hours and long moments dwelling on the beauty of the sea gently lapping the granite boulders and the curves of mountains against the purple sky are recorded as memories. I begin to experience moments of…… Continue reading Time’s Dissolution

The idyllic harbor of So.Free.Me—South Freeport Maine—contains the mix of lobster trap buoys, fishing vessels and pleasure boats seen in every Maine harbor. But the town center of South Freeport, 3 miles away, is the home of LL Bean and a raft of outlet stores, and as such, is the another popular built environment along…… Continue reading So.Free.Me

Dodging lobster traps and navigating through fog are par for the course when cruising the coast of Maine. Fortunately we have been moored or at anchor during the strong afternoon thunderstorms that have rolled over the coast and out to sea . I listened to the brilliant Ibram X. Kendi read his seminal book “How…… Continue reading Reaching Coastal Maine

Our passage along the shore of Long Island was notable for dense fog that made it impossible to get a view of anything, including our own bow slicing through the water at 8 knots. Christoph and I took turns on watch, sleeping in the salon when we had the chance. At the helm, I rely…… Continue reading Shrouded in fog

We dropped Delfina’s mooring and set out today for the Atlantic Ocean, bound for Block Island, Rhode Island. The overnight passage takes about 20 hours. With south wind and clear skies, I felt my spirits begin to lift. The ocean is where I feel closest to Jonah, where he may greet me in the guise…… Continue reading Setting sail