Optimism and positive thinking are almost universally regarded as things to strive for. Nobody wants to hang around a pessimist or Debbie Downer, and everybody tries to view the glass as half full, not half empty. There are many books … Continue reading
Category Archives: France
Raiatea, Societies, French Polynesia
If you ask any American high school student who discovered America you’ll get the same, although wrong, answer almost every time…. “Columbus”. If you ask a French student who discovered French Polynesia, we suspect you’d get an equally consistent, and … Continue reading
Cooks Bay, Moorea, Societies, French Polynesia
Life in a modern western metropolis is easy, safe, and comfortable. Buildings keep us sheltered from the rain and sun, concrete on the ground keeps the rocks and dirt away, climate control keeps the hot and cold outside, cars save … Continue reading
Rangiroa, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
Every place we go seems to have a unique set of sailing challenges either relating to the weather conditions or the geography. In the Mediterranean it was the fierce seasonal winds and lack of shallow anchorages. In the Caribbean it … Continue reading
Fakarava Atoll, Tuamotus, French Polynesia
As humans, we’re terribly suited for life underwater. Without any ability to take oxygen from the seawater, we’d suffocate in minutes. We’d succumb to hypothermia even in the most tropical seas, and if by some miracle we were still alive … Continue reading
Fatu Hiva, Marquesas, French Polynesia
Sir Ernest Shackleton’s famous newspaper ad for his historic 1914 Antarctic sailing expedition read: “Men Wanted for Hazardous Journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.” The … Continue reading
Hiva Oa, French Polynesia (Pacific Crossing Day 18)
It would be unfair to the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic to say the Pacific is the world’s greatest ocean. They are all giants and each is worthy of the seafarer’s most profound respect. But privately, after dedicating about a … Continue reading
Gustavia, St. Barts, France
It’s easier to understand St. Bart’s if you start by quarantining some of your thoughts. So for now, forget about the fiscal cliff, forget about the unemployment situation and record food stamp participation in the US. Forget about austerity in … Continue reading
Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe
In our high school days we always thought history class was the most boring of all the subjects. Why we should care about what happened hundreds of years ago was never clear to us. Since then, our opinion about the … Continue reading
St. Tropez, France
There are a lot of things we love about a traveling lifestyle – the list is far too long to type here. If we did type it, though, one thing that would appear at the very top would be experiencing … Continue reading
Porto Vecchio, Corsica, France
If you ever decide to abandon land life and take to the sea, or any other form of homelessness, one thing you’ll quickly notice is how connected you become to the world around you. When your life is spent outdoors, … Continue reading