Life Aboard a Sailboat
Florida, the Bahamas, and the Caribbean
Browse through our voyages, including pictures, and review our books.
Squalls and Rainbows relates the sights, people, and adventures of our two year voyage from Florida through the Caribbean to Trinidad. Sail with us on Nalani, our 37 foot Cutter, from island to island, including a near collision with a whale, and a 3-day chase by Huricane Emily.
White Cays and Blue Seas is about the Exuma Cays, Cat Island, and Long Island in the beautiful Bahamas. Witness the thrill of a first offshore voyage, and lessons learned aboard a small boat at sea.
The Fools Reward is a novel about a retired pilot, Pete Moore, and his rebellious son David. Pete owns a boatyard and built his own yacht to cruise the world. He and David set off on a maiden voyage to Montauk Point, Long Island, with friends Sal and Cira Merlino. A romance brews between Pete and Cira while David abandons ship to join a group of surfers dealing drugs. Events quickly spin out of control.
Love, Sex and Microcomputers is a novel set in the 1970's Chicago. Tom Layne joins an elite team of software developers to work with Intel's new microprocessor, the 8-bit 8080. Unfortunately, the job takes Tom away from his wife, Cary, and their young daughter, Stacy, both of whom still live in New Jersey. A marital tug-of-war ensues, and Tom must choose between his job and his family, between a wild nightlife and domestic duty, and ultimately, between ephemeral passion and lasting love. But when the couple finally reconciles, Tom learns that every day is precious—and that we don't always know what we have until we've lost it forever.
Our life aboard
We lived aboard a sailboat on the southwest coast of Florida for 15 years. We cruised extensively from Florida to the Bahamas, and the Turks and Caicos; to the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, including Vieques and Culebra; through the Virgin Islands, Leeward and Windward Islands, to Grenada and Trinidad.
Our first sailboat Cyana was a Morgan 32 sloop. We sailed Tampa Bay to Sarasota and Charlotte Harbor on the southwest coast of Florida.
In 1992 we moved aboard Delphinium, a Pearson 365 ketch.
The story of our first offshore trip to the Dry Tortugas is the prologue of White Cays and Blue Seas. This was truly a shake-down cruise. Among the many things that went wrong, we lost the engine and were almost run over by a tanker. Read about it here.
In 1997 we sailed to the Exumas in the Bahamas and participated in the rescue of two Cat Island fisherman lost at sea. After returning to Florida, we replaced Delphinium with Nalani, a Tayana 37 cutter (shown here).
In 2003 we returned to the Exumas and continued to Cat Island and Long Island. The stories of the joys, hardships, and adventures of our Bahamas cruises are published in White Cays and Blue Seas.
We left the docks again in 2005 for the Caribbean. We sailed through the Bahamas to the Turks and Caicos where we crossed to the Dominican Republic. We anchored in Luperon Harbor and toured the country. We then sailed east to Puerto Rico and Vieques, through the Virgin Islands, and south along the Caribbean Leeward and Windward Islands to Trinidad. We almost collided with a whale, and we were chased at sea by Hurricane Emily. These experiences are related in Squalls and Rainbows.
We lived in Trinidad and Grenada for several months and explored both islands. We then returned north to Florida, which included one run of five days at sea. The complete story of this voyage is published in Squalls and Rainbows. It as a story of beautiful islands, wonderful people, and exciting discoveries.
Comments from readers:
"What an interesting and compelling read. It has clear prose, wonderful descriptions ..."
"Your book is like dessert for us after a long day and we can close our eyes and imagine being somewhere much more exciting ..."
"I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in reading a very descriptive yet entertaining first-hand account of navigating the waters as well as learning about the cultures of the various destinations."
See Books for reviews, more details, and table of contents.