travel – Sailing Coronado

My second article for SAIL Magazine was just published: “Living the Dream… and Weathering the Arguments.”

My confession is that it felt vulnerable to write the opening paragraph. It begins with me crying on the bow in Cefalù, Sicily, four months into living aboard full-time, and searching for plane tickets home.

Cruising is often portrayed as the dream life, and in many ways it truly is. But it felt a little raw to share the struggles John and I had during our first year with the world. Still, it all happened, and it was real, so I decided to be brave and share it.

What surprised me most has been the response. I’ve had touching notes from other sailors. Many have written to say that reading this helped them feel less alone with the bickering and similar arguments they’ve had onboard. I’ve also been surprised to hear from friends who don’t sail but have recently retired or had babies, sharing that parts of the story resonated with them, too.

The truth is that when life changes in a big way, even when it’s something we deeply wanted, there are growing pains. But those growing pains are also part of the adventure.

Cruising is one of the most extraordinary chapters of our lives, even with the challenges. I’ll keep sharing both the beautiful moments and the hard ones along the way. When we open up, we give others permission to do the same, and that helps all of us.

Right now, we’re in Panama preparing for our Pacific crossing, then sailing to French Polynesia and the South Pacific. The last four years and 22,000 NM have been extraordinary, and somehow it feels like the next part of the journey might be even better.

– HRM Anna

We are at the Annapolis Boat Show and I’m holding my article in SAIL Magazine. 😊 The October 2024 edition of SAIL includes my article “Into the Deep End,” chronicling our shakedown voyage in 2022 across the Bay of Biscay. When SAIL Editor-In-Chief Wendy Mitman Clarke sent me the layout copy to approve, I felt so emotional that I caught my breath, and tears welled up in my eyes. I’ve written many things in my career, but I don’t know if I’ve ever felt as proud as I am of this article.

I met Wendy in 2023 at the Annapolis Boat Show. She is a kindred spirit, and we connected immediately over cruising and writing. When I shared my background in communications, she asked if I had a blog. I sheepishly admitted I did, but I hadn’t been writing much and couldn’t explain why. When I quit my job to go sailing, everyone said, “You are going to blog, right?” Of course, I said! But then I just didn’t want to.

For all of you following the blog here, you know things have been very, very quiet. The truth is that my desire and motivation to write disappeared entirely during the first year of cruising. I wrote a few pieces but mostly struggled with feeling guilty for not writing more.

Surprisingly, Wendy said she understood. She shared that she didn’t write much during the first year of cruising with her husband and their two children. She also shared an insightful article by Alicia Mountain with me, “To the Writer Who is Not Writing.” This article is for anyone creative who is struggling and feeling like their words or art are lost at moments. Reading it and letting go of the guilt I felt was a pivotal moment for me in my writing journey.

“There are moments that can, and maybe should, exist only in experience, not to be rewound, not to serve any other purpose.

Writer, know that you will write when it’s right for you. Know that if you aren’t writing now, you might be doing the better thing—living.” – Alicia Mountain

Wendy assured me that all the experiences I was living would still be there when I was ready to write about them, and her words comforted me. She also validated how the first year of cruising is overwhelming in many ways. It was true. I needed to be focused on purely living it all the first year, not writing about it.

Anna’s article in SAIL Magazine: “Into the Deep End”

We parted ways, and a few days later, Wendy sent me an email saying she had read my blog and enjoyed my story about the Bay of Biscay crossing. She said she knew we were just talking about how I was struggling with writing but asked if I would consider reworking it for the magazine. Yes. Of course, I said yes!

I feel renewed excitement about writing and blogging about our adventures. People and moments come to us when we need them. Wendy gave me permission to let go of feeling guilty for taking time off from writing and encouraged me to find my way back to my words. What a gift. ❤️

You can read my article on SAIL Magazine’s website:
https://www.sailmagazine.com/cruising/offshore-passage-bay-of-biscay

Tag: travel

SAIL Magazine: “Living the Dream… and Weathering the Arguments”

Coronado in SAIL Magazine: “Into the Deep End”