Predicaments in Paradise
Since buying our 1984 Grand Soleil 39, Yahtzee, in Seattle in 2012, our family has cruised over 15,000 miles from Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska, south through Mexico, Central and South America, and now in…
Alluring Alaska: The Ups, Downs and Rewards of Cruising “The Last Frontier”
Yahtzee anchored and stern-tied at Fox Island Spit. There are times aboard our boats when everything seems to run counter to expectations. We’ve all been there. This particular time, our family was blasting into a sudden…
Editor’s Letter: The Joys of Summer Boating in the PNW
Eleven years ago this month, my wife Jill and I finalized the purchase of our beloved 1984 Grand Soleil 39 on Lake Union and couldn’t have been more excited. Starry-eyed youngsters, we celebrated with beers on the patio of…
A Tale of Two Passages: Colombia>Aruba>Curaçao
We've owned the good ship Yahtzee for 11 years now and, with all the passages in our wake and the places we've been, our family has learned a lot about life and the realities of living aboard a traveling sailboat. Besides…
The Cruising Cure
With Jill at the helm and me working lines and placing fenders, we coaxed Yahtzee off the dock against the protests of a stiff cross-breeze at Cap Sante Marina in Anacortes. It was one of those winter southeasterlies that…
Yahtzee’s Colombian Hurricane Home and Spa
It was about 8:15 a.m. when I climbed off Yahtzee's stern onto the dock in Cartagena. The sun had been up for a couple hours and the Caribbean heat was already blazing. As I slid into my flip-flops and shouldered my…
A 10 Year Milestone: From the PNW to the Panama Canal
This article was originally published in the April 2022 issue of 48° North. Looking forward and aft — at what, I'm not exactly sure — our canal pilot, Francisco, says simply, “Slow down, we need to wait here.” I can feel…
Family Time Stateside & FAQs on Leaving Yahtzee
This post was originally published on SailingYahtzee.com... Plans are a funny thing when cruising. We've learned over the years not to make them too far in advance, and when we do, to take them as if they're written in the…