I started writing Letters from Kate as a weekly newsletter to family and friends in 2008 when we bought the boat. They went out as emails and when I got organized appeared on a page of the website. In 2014 I changed format and started using a more modern blog platform to share our “Letters”,…
Sprouting and Yogurt Making Onboard
On newstands now is the April issue of Blue Water Sailing magazine where you’ll find all the info you need start making yogurt and sprouting greens in my column ‘Heather Francis Onboard’. Make a healthy choice and pick up a copy today!
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TOP TEN PROS AND CONS OF LIVING ON A SAILBOAT
TOP TEN PROS AND CONS OF LIVING ON A SAILBOAT 1. PRO– We travel the world and get to sleep in our own bed every night. CON- I have spent many a stormy night lying awake in my own bed worried we’ll drag anchor and end up on the reef, losing everything. 2. PRO- The…
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Canoe Kids
They arrive shortly after we throw the anchor. The scout boat stands off, cautiously waiting for our cue. If we don’t notice them right away they start to sing or softly knock their paddles on the canoe to get our attention. We wave and ask “You got someting?” Our enquiry is met with bright smiles…
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Can you hear me now?!
I realize things have been a little quiet around here. The thing is comm’s in the Solomon’s aren’t great. We don’t have dedicated internet or email on board and depend on the local cell phone networks to keep up with things online. Outside the few larger townships getting a cell signal sometimes requires a tin…
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Upcycling Old Sails in Cruising World
Pick up a copy of the March issue of Cruising World Magazine and read my article about how to upcycle your old sails into a sunshade, a shopping bag, a mosquito tent and more!
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Missing persons
I woke up this morning missing something. I miss bed you can roll out of either side of instead of only being able crawling out awkwardly over the top. I miss toilets that flush quietly without pumping them. I miss lighting the stove to make coffee without having to creep outside to turn on the…
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2-4-1 in the BWS February Issue
There is still a few days to pick up the February issue of Blue Water Sailing magazine where you’ll find information about building an onboard medical kit in my regular column, Heather Francis Onboard, as well as a story about our time in New Caledonia earlier this year! You can also subscribe to the digital…
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Exploring the (mostly) Uncharted Vona Vona Lagoon
We weren’t sure how far we’d get. Beyond the depth soundings over the Katherine bar on the western edge, some details around the perimeter and a small scale chartlet of the port of Noro, home to the Sol Tuna factory, the rest the Vona Vona lagoon appeared as an empty grey expanse on both our…
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Soggy Sollies
We haven’t been moving much recently. Haven’t budged for 17 days actually except when blown around on anchor in passing squalls. We’ve been hemmed in by a weather that is being kept over the Solomon’s by a couple cyclones that formed in the coral sea. Days and days and days of rain. It started off…
