With just five days until the launch of Riding the Waves of Reality III: Into the Pacific, Paradise and Peril, we’re juggling book preparations with the challenges of sailing life in Tonga. Our next passage depends on finding the right weather window, conserving our limited fuel, and safely reaching New Zealand. Join us behind the scenes as we navigate the uncertainty, celebrate our newest book, and share how your support on launch day can help our adventures reach more readers!
As many of you who follow along with our daily updates already know, we are currently sidelined in Nuku Hiva with a broken engine. What we thought would be a manageable repair has turned into one of the most frustrating and drawn-out challenges of our entire voyage. The Part That Didn’t Exist Before we left…
Life, Loss, and Lessons After an eventful Pacific Ocean crossing, Dan and I finally arrived in the Marquesas Islands, a place sailors dream about for years. Remote, dramatic, and unapologetically wild, the Marquesas sit nearly 900 miles northeast of Tahiti, rising steeply from the Pacific like something carved by myth rather than geology. These islands…
The Marquesas rise from the Pacific like a dream — rugged, ancient, and alive with spirit. From Hiva Oa’s artistry to Fatu Hiva’s heartfelt traditions, each island revealed lessons in simplicity, resilience, and grace. Here, true wealth is found not in comfort, but in connection.
Chapter 1: The Toughest Dive of Our Lives Our unexpected detour to the Galapagos Islands has been a rollercoaster of jaw-dropping sights, backbreaking repairs, and heartwarming connections. Picture this: Dan and I, seasoned divers since our twenties, geared up for a dive at Gordon Rocks with Shark Bay Scuba Shop. This would be one of…
Sometimes, there can be beauty in despair, silver linings in misfortunes, and blue skies in the future where there seems to be nothing but storms. A Confounding Time in Panama In our seven years of circumnavigating, I have to say that our time in Panama has been the most confounding. She beat us up, spit…
I am thankful every day for my husband, my captain, and the man who makes this dream possible. He faces daunting tasks, setbacks, and seemingly impossible odds, yet he perseveres. Sometimes, frustration sets in, but I always hug him and remind him that the freedom we experience comes at a price—being in countries where getting…
Wrapping Up in Panama: Final Projects Before the Big Leap Panama has been a whirlwind, but we’re down to our final two major projects before setting sail across the Pacific. First, we’re replacing the standing rigging—a critical upgrade for safety on such a long passage. Second, we’re installing a new solar panel arch and adding…
The Reality of Boat Repairs in Foreign Countries Sailing around the world is an adventure of a lifetime, but preparing a boat for a Pacific crossing comes with its fair share of challenges—especially when you’re stuck in a foreign country waiting on repairs and parts. We’ve been in Panama since December, dealing with unexpected delays,…
The Never-Ending Struggle for Boat Parts The last few days have been eventful here in Panama! We are facing dilemmas regarding boat parts as the nightmare of getting work done in foreign countries continues. We have parts that have been shipped and lost in transit, parts delayed due to a week of partying during the…