It has been a year and a half since I have posted anything here on my beloved sailing blog. That year and a half has been one of the most challenging epochs of my life. My health and wellness took a huge hit in a few ways over that time, and I was rendered unable to do much in my life, let alone sail my boat. I am extremely grateful to be feeling better and slowly getting back out on the water. I am so happy to be able to turn my attention once again to my sailing dreams. Once of these dreams has been to keep Cassiopeia in the Bay Area for a while to seek new adventure and experience. Thanks ..read more

I am currenlty flying across the pacific to greet my boyfriend, Brendan, who is days from arriving in Kaneohe in the 2022 Pacific Cup. Every time I have flown across this ocean since the finish of the 2016 SHTP, the vastness feels staggering. I cannot help but think of how tiny Haunani and I were out there 6 years ago. This time my thoughts wander to the reality that in less than one year I will be a tiny speck out there again, this time aboard my lovely Cassiopeia. I am registered for the race, and preparations are well underway for our big adventure Crossing the one year mark makes everyth ..read more

I met a magical mermaid sister today. It’s amazing to me how life brings people together. She is half my age, but from the moment we sat down, I could tell that we were kindred souls, and age did not matter one bit.  She joked that she meets people by being “stalker-y”, just because she likes their energy and wants to know them. In some situations people may get freaked out by that kind of thing, but I actually welcome it. I can already count 2 dear friends who have become my friends by being this way with me, and I have countless of my own that I “stalked” because I wanted to know ..read more

Last night was our last race of the season in The Cal Yacht Club Sunset Series. I am so proud of our team. We finished 5th overall in our class (out of 19) in our first season as a team and my first season as a skipper in buoy racing. When we came together, we all brought different skills and levels of experience, and as the weeks went on, those were channeled into the well-oiled machine that is now our team. When we crossed the finish line last night, we were one, and that came from weeks of learning and growing together.  Everyone came so far, and we came so far as a team. Through the ..read more

Just about half way! Track them HERE Right now, I have 8 friends sailing alone across the Pacific Ocean!! If you count all of the new friends I made at the start of the Singlehanded Transpac, the count goes up to 22! Four of these sailors are my dear compadres from The Pacific Singlehanded Sailing Association's inaugural Singlehanded Transpacific race, The Shaka Challenge. Bill, Matt, Patrice and Larry all left Marina Del Rey one week ago. They are about half way across now, and I am dying to know how they are doing!  The sendoff was a wonderful affair! It was a beautiful South ..read more

The San Francisco Bay Singlehanded Sailing Society’s Three Bridge Fiasco is infamous. I have been intrigued over the years by all of the stories I have heard of the hundreds of boats on San Francisco Bay trying to navigate an unprescribed course around three bridges (or their neighboring marks) in unpredictable and often painfully light conditions. I was excited as always to be doublehanding with my boyfriend, Brendan on his boat, Siren. Siren is a Santa Cruz 33, and is one of my secret boat crushes (don’t tell Cassiopeia!). We headed out of Richardson Bay at around 0830 on a perfect winter’s ..read more

PSSA Ship Rock Race turned into a Catalina adventure  Most days on the water slay me, but this one took me by surprise with its unexpected majesty. Perhaps it was the fact that I hadn’t been out alone on my boat in quite a while, or perhaps it was that I have been in a bit of a funk, or maybe it was simply the pure magic of this day on the water. Whatever the reason, my spirit feels renewed, and I am grateful.   I left the dock in Marina Del Rey at 0945 am during a Tsunami warning. This sounds dramatic, but the only effects apparent in my marina were dramatic tide level changes ..read more

Whitall and Sparrow sailing off into the sunset and starting a great adventure Today is Thanksgiving. As with many families, the traditional ways in which my family and I have come together at this time, have been rendered impossible by Covid. On top of that, I have been isolating for 2 weeks, due to bizarre symptoms and the weighty responsibility of possessing such symptoms in the times of a global pandemic. Therefore, my 53rd birthday and my 53rd Thanksgiving have been “unusual” to say the least. So, I sit here alone in my apartment contemplating life, and fantasizing about my upc ..read more

The last time I sailed with my Pop, on my 50th birthday, November 2017 Yesterday was Father’s day. I have never been a fan of these “holidays” (to me, every day is Father’s, Mother’s and love day!), but yesterday it felt more significant to me. Maybe because I was inundated with all of the Father’s day energy around my life and on social media, which reminded me that for the first time in my life, on Father’s day, I didn’t have a dad.   I haven’t written in this blog since I left last year to go and live with my father to help care for him in the last months of his life. He passed a ..read more

WOW WAH 2019 I haven’t posted anything since June, but that does not mean that this past summer was not chock-full of sailing. In fact I think that is actually the reason I haven’t posted. Now that I am up in the mountains reflecting on an amazing “season” of sailing and racing, I thought I would share about what my amazing team accomplished this season. You have read about them before, but this year everyone stepped up their game and we were on fire beyond my wildest dreams!  When forming Team Cassiopeia in 2018, I had one mission: to foster an environment of learning and ..read more