Pamela Gibson

Weather is probably the most important unknown we face when cruising. We get reports from the National Weather Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Weather Channel and my phone and none of them are one hundred percent accurate. So we compare, we analyze, we look at the sky, and we pray (at least I … Read more

I woke up to fog again this morning and the lump in my stomach grew. The boat is solid, Mark knows what he’s doing, the chart plotter works, so why this anxiety? Ingrained personality traits sometimes get in the way of common sense. I’m a worrier—always have been, always will be. My Mexican grandmother used … Read more

Boaters who are together 24/7 often develop their own language. Sometimes its clear and other times it’s not. “Mosquito on your tail.” “How big?” “Big enough to bite if its fast.” Pause. “Hang on. Ouch!” (Translation: fast little fishing skiff has just zoomed by and left us rocking in his wake.)   “Could you change … Read more

When you go to a ball game, you can look at the scoreboard and see what’s been happening. When cruising, you should be able to do it too. So here’s an update. We’ve gone about 1200 miles, finished 25 per cent of the trip, fueled three times (you don’t want to know the cost), and … Read more

Certain rituals seem to be ageless. One is the gathering of women to beat dirty clothes against rocks, to share a little gossip, and to generally pass the time. This ritual continues for boaters…it’s called the marina laundry room. Every week Mark hauls a big bag of laundry to the marina washers while I tag … Read more