If you missed part one about sailing in the Bay of Islands, check it out here. Monday morning, the start of Christmas week, dawned bright and early with us moving anchorages to the other side of Mimiwhangata Bay, to a spot later populated by several fishing boats. The night before, during our solstice-party planning party,…
Category: life on a boat
a day in the life of a steward
updated July 2016. So often, people ask me what it was like to work for a tiny cruise ship. I can give you all sorts of reasons why I loved it -from the places we went to the amazing people I met. If you ask my coworkers, they’ll likely tell you I was a bitch…
on spending the holidays away from home
2015 marks the 6th year that i’ve spent holidays away from my family. the first time i did it, i was studying abroad in glasgow. our hosts held a thanksgiving party in edinburgh for us, and the pumpkin pie was made with real pumpkin (it was gross.) in 2008, i went home for christmas but…
in photos: ford’s terror wilderness area (alaska)
one of my favourite places in the world is alaska. i was lucky enough to spend the last three years there, working on a small expedition ship, and it’s one of the places i miss terribly now that i’m not working for them anymore. ford’s terror is located in tracy arm wilderness area and has…
travel essay: transiting the panama canal
We sit, anchored at what we call Flamenco, an expanse of Pacific Ocean filled with container ships, yachts, car carriers, junkers, the greenpeace sailboat, and other various ships. Panama City is in the distance, a hazy mirage of skyscrapers glinting in the afternoon sun. A hot breeze wafts across the water – one that’s just…
in photos: haida gwaii
there is a series of islands along the west coast of canada known as the queen charlottes. similar in size and shape to the outer hebrides on the west coast of scotland, they are home to the haida people, a first nations community. i have been lucky enough to go twice and both times i…
travel essay: flying over leconte glacier
We drive down the dock, the rear of the van scraping the incline as we bump down the wooden planks. Ahead is our transportation for the afternoon. A float plane, also known as an Alaskan taxi. The plane is tiny, and it’s floats are almost bigger than the plane itself. We are six passengers and…
travel essay: bubble-netting whales
It’s a calm morning in the waters of Southeast Alaska. There isn’t a ripple in the water, except for the circle of bubbles that come to the surface not twenty feet from our bow. Everyone is silent, save for a quick whisper here and there. Suddenly, the world erupts in a spray of splashes, screams,…
travel essay: sand dollar beach
It’s early in the morning but the sun is still hot and high. I catch a zodiac across the shallow channel to the beach and slip my sandals off in the golden sand. I’ve got my Nikon slung across my shoulders and my iPhone camera in my pocket. I know it’s at least a thirty…
travel essay: isla catalina
the elephant looms over the shallow water, casting a shadow on the dark turquoise waves below. to the left, water laps at the large rocks, and brush hugs the edge of the rocks, no room for walking. the rocky beach to the right, though, gives way to a sandy arroyo, full of cacti, lizards and…