My mission is to inspire others to turn their dreams into goals
and to reach for those goals with passion, confidence, and commitment
while growing in self-esteem and self-respect.
I have been passionate about sailing ever since I first sailed on a friend's Laser dinghy over 40 years ago. Since then, I've had seven sailboats from a 21-foot Southern Coast day-sailer, on which I lived for a year in British Columbia, to the 32-foot Eidos I own now.
I have over 20,000 nm of offshore experience from British Columbia, Canada to Acapulco, Mexico, in the Mediterranean, in Florida, the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands and also an Atlantic crossing. I have sailed and lived on all kinds of boats, from a 26-foot engine-less International Folkboat in Mexico to a 98-foot brigantine on the Pacific and a 100-foot Camper Nicholson in the Mediterranean. I am a qualified Canadian Yachting Association Sailing Instructor.
The longest I have been out at sea is 21 days in the Atlantic between Bermuda and the Azores. The worst weather I experienced while sailing was 35 knots and BIG waves for 48 hours in the Atlantic. However, one day in the Gulf de Lion during a force 7 Mistral comes a close second. My most frightening experience was at anchor on the north coast of Ibiza Island during a Tramontana. One day I will write about that one.
For fun, I meditate, do yoga, read, write, play the piano, study languages, knit, dance salsa, and listen to classical music. I enjoy cooking, baking, swimming, snorkeling, and visiting with other cruisers. Exploring on land and meeting the locals is very important to me as well. I organize car and bus tours, hikes and nature walks and search out cultural events. And of course, there is always some repair to do onboard. At sea, I like three-hour watches, sailing even when the wind drops and searching the horizon for dolphins or whales.
I like routines and being organized and tidy but I'm not a neat-freak, but it is important while at sea to be able to find anything in the dark. While coastal cruising, things tend to slide a bit... I value silence as well as meaningful conversation. I am a morning person often up to watch the sunrise. I am idealistic and romantic and more intellectual and sensual than physical or emotional. I hope I am relatively well balanced. Being a photographer makes me very visual and aware of ambiance and beauty.
In the past, I have been a researcher and a project manager for an oceanographic institute and a journalist although I have also worked picking fruit and waiting on tables. Right now I’m a freelance writer and a photographer. For five years, I published "The Ionian" a print and online magazine in Greece and I have recently published Salt Water In My Veins, a book of sailing stories. I have two grown sons that I am very proud of, two wonderful daughters-in-law and four grandchildren all living in Canada and pursuing their dreams as well. I visit them as often as I can and hope that they will visit me too one day.
If you would like me to assist you in choosing an offshore sailboat, or invite me to do a presentation for your club or organization, please contact me and I'll be happy to give you more information.
Check out my Writing Life blog.
