We received a question a while ago that got us both thinking: “Why did you start cruising, why do you keep cruising, and how long will you keep doing it?”
Phyllis
Badger Sunscreen Review
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A review of the best sunscreen we have found for boating.
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Coastal Overnights—They’re Tough But They Get The Job Done
Reading Time: 4 minutes
After spending much of the last four winters in Maine and Nova Scotia refitting Morgan’s Cloud, John and I agreed that a winter in the Bahamas would be just the ticket. So when the blazing fall colours and chilly temperatures of early October indicated that Penobscot Bay, Maine wasn’t going to remain the balmy summer playground we had enjoyed since mid-July, we started thinking about heading south.
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Q&A: Issues With Teak Deck Replacement On A Metal Boat
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Question: We are hoping to draw on your experience with teak deck replacement on our steel sailboat…Despite our initial plan of just stemming the leaks for the short term until we sailed somewhere fun, they are just too bad and the deck has to go next spring/summer. While going through the process of finding someone to sandblast and paint the deck, the contractor brought up the problem of welding, if needed, since we have insulation (sprayed in UFFI). How did you handle this?…Also, would you recommend laying Treadmaster?
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Back on Board
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Our last extended cruise ended in the fall of 2003 when John and I hauled Morgan’s Cloud in Maine so that we could spend the winter at our house in Bermuda. We had a big decision to make: If we wanted to refit Morgan’s Cloud and keep on cruising, the house would have to be sold. But the house was a little piece of paradise on the water in Bermuda—not something we could afford to replace if we decided later that we had made the wrong choice.
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Q&A: Diamonds Are A Woman’s Best Friend!
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Question: Three friends and I are outfitting my Skye 51′ for a five-year circumnavigation and we are replacing the old teak decks…I have heard many more pros than cons to Treadmaster and I would like to know your honest opinion on installation, upkeep, durability and general contentment with the product. Any input that you care to supply would be greatly appreciated.
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Q&A: On Being A Newbie
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Question: I’m planning a five-year circumnavigation. While I grew up as a live aboard cruiser, two of my crew have limited sailing experience. We have cruised the Chesapeake Bay extensively together and both are becoming good seamen but neither has been on a blue water passage.
Phyllis, I understand that you had little or no sailing experience before you started cruising in 1996, do you have any personal advice for them (or for me and how to coach them) about acquiring sound blue water seamanship for our planned five-year circumnavigation?
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Q&A: Why White?
Reading Time: < 1 minutesQuestion: Why did you paint Morgan’s Cloud white? I thought she looked better painted dark blue.
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Steiner Binoculars
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Steiner is one of the few companies left (it seems) that is still building good quality equipment and then standing behind it. We have had the same pair of Steiner Commander RS2000 binoculars for over 20 years.
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A Cruise Of The Outer Bay of Fundy 2007
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What about a circumnavigation of the Outer Bay of Fundy?
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The Journey Is The Reward
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Though John and I always feel totally disconnected with our destination after flying somewhere, when sailing from place to place on Morgan’s Cloud we feel like active participants in the small bit of the world surrounding us.
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Discomfort
Reading Time: < 1 minutesDiscomfort is a bad word in our society. Our houses, our cars and our public buildings shelter us so totally from the environment that we rarely feel cold or hot or wet or windblown and, unless it’s a hurricane or tsunami, the weather very seldom stops us from doing what we want when we want.
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