Respecting Paradise
Author’s note: I first started to write this story at the request of one of my Marquesan friends who hoped to make the cruising community more aware of the issues I outline here. But I want to make it…
Author: Story and photos by Ellen Massey Leonard
Amazing trades
This is the fourth and final installment in a multipart series, “The toughest passages of 50,000 miles,” a look at the most difficult aspects of circumnavigators Ellen and Seth Leonard’s various ocean voyages. In this last piece, Ellen changes the focus.
Dodging lightning
This is the third part of a multipart series, “The toughest passages of 50,000 miles,” a look at the most difficult aspects of circumnavigators Ellen and Seth Leonard’s various ocean voyages.
Worst gear breakdowns
This is the second part of a multipart series, “The toughest passages of 50,000 miles,” a look at the most difficult aspects of circumnavigators Ellen and Seth Leonard’s various ocean voyages.
Worst weather challenges
Last summer, in the middle of our second Pacific Ocean crossing, my husband, Seth, and I realized that we had sailed 50,000 sea miles.
Passage to San Francisco
The West Coast of the United States is not known for its idyllic sailing grounds.
A penchant for the primitive
My husband Seth and I seem to have a penchant for primitivism.
An unusual high-latitude vessel
Most boats navigating above the Arctic Circle, or even for that matter above about 50° N, are purpose-built steel vessels with high freeboard, big engines and generators, and a bridge deck or pilothouse full of electronics.
Two hands on deck
A sailor transitioning from racing to cruising or from coastal hopping to offshore passages has a lot of questions, not the least of which will be how many crew to have aboard.
Armor belted
I’ve always wanted to sail in the Arctic. Some of my greatest pleasure in voyaging comes from the remarkable animals that share the earth with us. I love diving and never tire of the tropical creatures, but I’ve always wanted to spot a walrus, or narwhal, or polar bear.
Basic coastal nav with triangles and dividers
Knowing some traditional navigation skills not only adds to voyaging safety, but gives a wonderful feeling of satisfaction and self-reliance in an era of powerful technology.
Staying clear of piracy
Voyagers looking west from Australia at an Indian Ocean crossing can choose to go under Africa or over it: either around the Cape of Good Hope, or through the Red Sea and Mediterranean.
Following Cook and Slocum
Voyagers head north inside Australia’s Great Barrier Reef
