As you read in the last post I took a bit of a break from life online during 2019. But, just because I wasn’t writing on the blog doesn’t mean that I wasn’t writing. I had a very productive year and had several articles published, one of which I am particularly proud of.

So, here is a round up of stories from 2019 that you may have missed.

As many of our regular readers will know, we try hard onboard Kate to be mindful of our surroundings and to live low-impact. In the April issue of Cruising World Magazine, I wrote about 10 Ways to Reduce Waste. Many of these ideas can be used whether you live on a boat or on land and all of them are super easy to employ, so what are you waiting for?

Sticking with the environmental theme I wrote about Eco-Friendly Boating practices for Boat Trader. This is an in-depth article that covers everything from being aware of how your boat wake can impact sensitive shallow-water environments to proper disposal of waste while on the water. I have to admit writing this was a little overwhelming, there is so much to consider! And it made me realize that we can still make tweaks and improvements to our onboard habits to be even more eco-conscious.

If you are new(er) to the boating scene

You might find my Boating Safety article helpful. In it I cover registration requirements (in the USA), mandatory safety equipment that should always be onboard, explain what COLREGS are, how knowing basic nautical terminology can help you avoid collision, and some basic boating etiquette. It’s kind of a one stop read on basic boating safety.

Every boater knows that the best way to stay safe in a storm is to avoid being caught out. They also know things don’t always go according to plan on the water, especially when it involves the weather. Yacht World published my tips and ideas about how to Stay Safe in a Storm, including some of the most popular and accurate weather apps and websites used by sailors.

If you are following sailors online at all then you probably are familiar with Elayna and Riley onboard La Vagabonde? This Aussie couple are the “IT” sailing channel on YouTube these days, recently racking up over 1 million subscribers. We’ve never met, but I did get a chance to interview Elayna for SAIL magazine. Appropriately, the interview was conducted with the power of the interweb.

I got an email from a reader in November telling me that they missed not only the blog posts about our adventures, but my recipes as well.

So, for all those galley geeks out there (and the home cooks too!) here is one of my go-to, easy desserts that satisfies the sweet tooth, is quick to prepare and looks kinda fancy too. Spiced Mango Jar Cakes are a pressure cooker, fruit flavoured twist on the microwaved mug cake idea. Of course, if you don’t live in the tropics with an abundance of mangoes you could use local berries, diced pears or even a trusty apple instead. And, if you don’t have a pressure cooker you can steam them on the stove top. DELISH! Anyone else been missing my Galley Notes?

Those jar cakes are great when you have guests for dinner, but what happens when you have people come to stay for longer than a meal? In April the Australian magazine Cruising Helmsman published my article about having, and being, Guests Onboard. Both boat owners and boat guests will find heaps of good info about clear communication, meeting expectations and the pressure we put on ourselves as hosts. Make your next boat vacation a happy one and read the article.

Cruising Helmsman also put Kate on the cover of the November issue!

Steve and I had a fantastic afternoon ashore hanging out together and our sunset dinghy ride back to the boat (with a sunset beer in hand, of course) was capped off with this stunning view. Who could resist snapping a photo of that pretty lady?

We spent 2019 exploring the Philippines but I got a chance to relive our time in the Solomon Islands back in 2015 with my story The Patience of Solomon. WWII museums, skull shrines, crocodiles and canoes full of kids. You can find it all, as well as some anchorage suggestion in the article. I hope you enjoy the read as much as we enjoyed our time in this remote and beautiful destination.

And finally, an article that I am especially proud and excited to share.

SisterShip, a recently revived sailing magazine written and produced for women, by women published a 2-part series that I wrote on Women’s Health (PART 1, PART 2). In it I cover issue like dealing with your period on a sailboat, birth control and babies onboard to finding doctors while sailing the world. You know, all the stuff you’re not supposed to talk about! Thanks to all the women sailors that I interviewed and a BIG thanks to SisterShip for believing that this kind of topic is important enough to be in magazine. I hope many of you readers, both women AND men, will find it informative and interesting. Show your support to this great publication and subscribe to the magazine.

I hope you read, share, and stay tuned for lots more articles in 2020. In fact, you might just see me in Cruising World this month.

Love,

H&S