Have you ever traveled on a sailboat?

I come alive when I'm sailing! I spent 15 years working on private yacht deliveries all over the world. They were all adventurous, challenging, inspiring and fantastically rewarding. Some of the most remarkable are: -from Phuket, Thailand to Singapore,(1983) -from Nicaragua to Cancun - through the Panama Canal,(1978) -and 2 Atlantic crossings -Antigua to Gibraltar (1987)and Gran Canaria to Barbados (1988) I sailed most of the Caribbean and Mediterranean, the east coast of Australia (Great Barrier Reef), Andaman Sea, Straits of Malacca, the English Channel and the west coast of Vancouver and Queen Charlotte Islands. Life on board is a style all its own. As you mentioned, there are so many situations we take for granted that are challenging on a sailing vessel. Imagine choosing and packing food and water for a crew of 4, for up to 30 days crossing the Atlantic, on a 36 foot sail boat with limited space and no place to restock until reaching your destination. Not an easy task! We had to shower in salt water with about a quart of fresh water to rinse (that is until the fresh drinking water supply is low, then it was no fresh water rinse). If the wind did not blow, because we could only carry a very limited quantity of fuel for the engine, we were becalmed. This is not a problem until food supplies are almost used up and there is still a substantial distance to travel before sighting land. However, imagine laying on your back at night on the deck, in the middle of the Atlantic with absolutely no lights to inhibit the view of stars and planets from horizon to horizon. There is nothing like it. Imagine laying on your stomache in a net suspended from the bowsprit (the pole that extends from the pointy front of the ship) and being visited by a school of dolphins who criss cross right beneath your body, close enough to touch, squealing and laughing and playing until they get bored and swim off to find some other form of amusement. Yes, life on a sailboat is something else. Most people love it or hate it. I feel fortunate and gifted to have felt the magic created by my sailing experiences (not to mention the many countries I visited). Cazz

I can see that you have changed your avatar my dear friend as well as your name. I so very much enjoy hearing about your trip to Panama in the sailing boat. I would so love to visit the San Blas Islands and by boat is an ideal way to do that. When I was in Hawaii I went out on a sailing boat whale watching. They are the most amazing creatures but taking a good photo of them is challenging. I went on a lovely looking sailing boat in Fiji over to a tiny palm fringed beach. In New Zealand I went on a sailing boat to see dolphins on Christmas Day. I remember feeling sea sick in Hawaii but the other trips were fine.