Barely out of Florianopolis, we were tossed around violently—a cork on a wild sea of foam, with 50 knots of wind. As the sea grew more frenzied, I became alarmed, and I seriously wondered if Cowabunga was going to pull us through intact.
Read MoreFar from the madding crowds of Los Angeles' spider-webbed freeways; San Francisco's millennial and tech-frenzy fueled, lofted start-ups; and California's mad-grab housing market; there lies a pristine, isolated coast in a far corner of Northern California where time undeniably just pokes along. Not easily accessible by car, and aptly named the Lost Coast...
Read MoreOn land as well as on the sea, the shit will hit the fan. In a rush to get to work, the coffee maker breaks, your pants zipper malfunctions, and the car tire is flat. In my ten years of living on a sailboat, a typical bad day was a dragging anchor, a ripped sail, and our toddler throwing a vital tool overboard. At sea as on land, it always happened in three's.
Read MoreTwo Languages, One Family: Portrait of a Bilingual Marriage.
Read MoreIt has to touch the ceiling. Always. Every year. That's our criteria for a Christmas tree. Our living room ceiling is 8 ft. high, so that is a feasible reach, but our son's tops out at 15 ft., presenting a little more of a challenge—especially since his living room/kitchen area makes up a large part of the second floor of his house. During the ten years we lived on a sailboat, we were occasionally able to put a tree outside on the deck, and then, literally, the sky was the limit.
Read MoreThe latest craze, fad, and craziness that has burst upon the pop culture scene is Pokémon Go, brought to us by, once again, Nintendo. I thought this company was dead! Well, at least in my mind it was. I had buried it years ago.
Read MoreTwo nights at sea, my husband's glasses overboard, a bit of inclement weather, and our decision was made. We were hooked. We would buy a sailboat, and sail the world with our children. And we did.
Read More"No life jackets on those kids?" Yes, that's right. No life jackets on those kids. My Huffington Post blog entry "We Sailed Across the Ocean…" from November 11, 2015, recounting our 30-day trans-Atlantic crossing on our sailboat with an infant and a toddler, featured several photos of my children onboard, "sans" life jackets. Some readers were taken aback and posted a comment of surprise and concern. This is not the first time I have had such remarks from—and here's where I must remind myself—amateurs, weekend recreational boaters, non-sailors, or at least non full-time "cruisers."
Read MoreBlisters gone. Swollen ankle—subsided. A few items lost, some new friends found. Satisfaction guaranteed. Thirty-five days for an adventure. Thirty-five days powered only by my own pedestrian momentum, only my feet pushing me from Point A to Point B, beginning to end, 500 miles across a country—just because.
Read MoreEven though Cowabunga is gone from our grasp, her spirit still has a way of poking into, and about, our daily life. Like little messages in a bottle, little snippets and reminders pop up unexpectedly, or regularly, as Michel and I go about our everyday routines…
Read MoreJanis Couvreux is an author, journalist and blogger. Her most recent work is the memoir: "Sail Cowabunga! A Family's Ten Years at Sea."
Find Janis on social media or around the web.
Sail Cowabunga! A Family's Ten Years at Sea, Janis Couvreux is a journalist, sailor, mom, grandmom, traveler, and Franco-American, who has blogged at the Huffington Post about living bilingually, crossing oceans, backpacking adventures, and raising kids outside the box.
You can also find Janis on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn
Copyright © 2023 Janis Couvreux & Couvreux Editing. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Squarespace & Designed by Christin Couvreux
