CASCADE II S2:E3

12/27/2021 Merry Christmas from across the pond! Here we are having a Christmas lunch on the beach, a sumptuous meal of seafood and “deconstructed cannoli” for dessert—that was a first! In this episode, Will takes the helm on most of the writing while I narrate our six-day trip across Sicily through pictures, which tooks us […]

CASCADE II S2:E2

Dec 15, 2021 We’ve been in Marina di Ragusa, Italy now for two weeks and are getting used to the rhythm of living on a boat in the Mediterranean as opposed to Maine. Not that much different really—well, except, um, the language, the food, the scenery, the marina, and the weather! Yeah, ok, that’s a […]

NIRVANA S2:E1

Nov 23, 2021 With less than week left before we head to Sicily for three months, I feel the need to reflect on the past month before moving on to the next transition. Some people sail through transitions; unless we’re actually sailing, I’m not one of them. So much has shifted since we moved aboard […]

NIRVANA S1:E10

Oct 19, 2021 Almost three weeks have gone by, and we’re now settled into our winter slip at DiMillo’s Marina on Commercial St. in downtown Portland. It’s been quite a transition from life at sea to life with one foot on land and one on the boat. Whereas previously we rowed our dinghy to get […]

NIRIVANA S1:E9

Sept 30, 2021 As summer has drawn to a close, the equinox has ushered in fall, and the equilux has pivoted our days to more darkness than light, we’ve begun our transition from “out cruising” to “back home,” whatever that means. As the land beckons, the sea remains our ground; as such, the definition is […]

Remembering Roland

. . . and speaking of bookends. . . our last blog ended with us showing up in South Freeport for our community dance, which was where we started back in June . . . . . . and it is also, sadly, the day my beloved uncle Roland Barth died. You can read his […]

NIRVANA S1:E8

September 13, 2021 Our summer cruising is drawing to a close, but there are still tales to tell. . . With a brand-new starter for our engine thanks to J.O. Brown, we were ready to set out once again, this time in search of a pump out for our holding tank. Finding places to do […]

Up Perry Creek Without a Starter

September 1, 2021 For the past week, we’ve been up Perry Creek without a starter. The good news is that we could have been up shit’s creek without a paddle. Instead, we’ve spent a delightful six days in a lovely cove only one mile from J. O. Brown boat yard where we’ve had two mobile […]

A Day in the Life Aboard sv NIRVANA

August 27, 2021 “I get all the news I need on the weather report.”–Simon & Garfunkel Most of the memories we’ve shared about our life aboard NIRVANA are striking. However, you may wonder about the day-to-day life aboard a sailboat, which is different, because it’s a sailboat, because it’s a tiny house, and because weather […]

NIRVANA S1:E7

Aug 26, 2021 Well, we did indeed follow our “plans” from Belfast, with a three-day interlude when we were holed up for hurricane-turned-tropical-storm Henri. Before we left our five-day respite in Belfast, we had the good fortune to find a mobile mechanic named Alec, who came to our boat to replace our solenoid, which has […]