Crack The Book: A Beginner's Guide to Reading the Great Books

Happy New Year, Adventurers! What went well in 2024 for you and what went not so well? This week, I’m joined by my husband, Bill, as we reflect on the highs and lows of 2024 and look ahead to what’s in store for 2025. We’re playing a little game of ‘Good Thing, Bad Thing’ - a game we loved to play with our kids around the dinner table to get everyone talking about their day. We’re reminiscing abou...

In this special holiday episode, I’ve put something together for you that will surely get you in the Christmas spirit! I’m putting my own spin on Clement Moore’s classic, ‘The Night Before Christmas’,  inspired by life aboard Abide with our family and crew (and a familiar face that shows up). Curl up with a cup of hot chocolate (or your favorite holiday drink from last week’s episode!) and se...

When we host guests aboard Adibe, one thing we love to do is prepare cocktails. And now that the holiday season is upon us, what better way to celebrate than by sharing our top three drinks we love to share? If you’re planning on hosting a party, or looking for some inspiration, this episode will make it a little easier for you to make things memorable. This week, I’m joined by our daughters, Paig...

When you're planning a trip, how do you make sure you see everything you want to without missing out on the best-kept secrets a destination has to offer? Whether you’re traveling by boat or not, when planning your next vacation, you want to try to fit everything in. But it’s not always that easy, and can be overwhelming when you’re visiting a new place. On this week’s episode, Bill (my husband!),...

As fall 2024 wraps up, it’s time to reflect on what’s been a busy season for us and for Abide. This has been an exciting few months for us and we don’t want you to miss any of it! Roland joins me in this episode as we go over some of the top trips that we’ve taken Abide on throughout fall to cap things off before she goes back to the boat yard. We’ll take you through the highlights, challenges, an...

Ever wondered what it’s like to spend an entire year on a boat, navigating 6000 miles of waterways? This week, we’re joined by Ali Hasell, who - along with her husband Duncan and their dog Tito - is taking on America’s Great Loop. In this episode, Ali gives as a look into the incredible journey that she and a community of ‘loopers’ go on to achieve this momentous task. Ali uncovers the unexpected...

As Abide arrives at St. Thomas for the USVI Charter Yacht Show, we’re pulling back the curtain on what really goes into preparing a yacht for brokers, clients and customers. In this episode, I’m joined again by our chef, Vanessa Verster, who’s had her hands full for the last couple of months with everything from crafting menus to styling a Japanese-inspired theme to leave an impression on brokers...

Getting a yacht from one place to another isn’t as straightforward as you might think… In this episode, Roland and I dive into the ins and outs of yacht ‘deliveries’. We’re moving Abide to St. Thomas in preparation for a boat show (more on that in a later episode). We’re recording from Charleston, where we’re busy prepping Abide to ensure she arrives in the same condition she left in. We discuss e...

As we wrap up the refit story, I’m taking a moment to reflect. In this solo episode, I share 3 insights from the incredible experience of getting Abide back on the water.  I break down the 3 big takeaways that have stuck with me and that I urge you to think about. This project reminded me of the amazing things we would have missed if we hadn’t taken the leap, and I hope to inspire you to take...

Abide finally made her way back to Charleston. This episode gets a little emotional… but it’s tears of joy so it’s okay! This week, Roland and I share the last leg of Abide's first real adventure as she arrives home in Charleston, marking a heart-warming return. Recording this episode was an absolute joy. From navigating treacherous waters to docking in Charleston, the final chapter of Abide’s jou...

Have you ever wondered what life is like for a crew on a yacht? Our crew spend a lot of time on Abide, not only working together, but living together, too. This week, we’re taking a quick break from the refit story to give you an inside look at what it’s really like to live and work aboard Abide. I’m joined by Jacob, our engineer, and Elizabeth, our deckhand who connected with me as they both sat...

As we entered Newport on a freezing Christmas Eve, we realized days later that we hadn’t officially cleared into the port... And that was just the beginning of the next set of challenges! This week, Roland and I dive into the next leg of Abide’s journey, as we sailed from Belfast, Maine to Newport, Rhode Island and onto Norfolk.  From a major malfunction that had us moored to the dock for wee...

What happens when your sailboat is forced to leave the dock before it’s ready, and the deck is turned into an ice rink? This week, I’m joined again by our captain, Roland - in person this time! We’re sitting aboard Abide as we reflect on the departure from the shipyard in Belfast, Maine.  Abide had become part of the local scenery, with both friends and strangers showing up to give her a send...

When we bought Abide, it was clear that she was built for something more. And part of what helped her reach her potential was the newly designed interior. In this episode, I sit down with Kate Seremeth, owner of TACK studios and the interior designer behind Abide’s stunning look. Kate shares her story from starting out in industrial design to becoming a specialist in yacht interiors. Growing up in...

This is where things got really hard. After being kicked out of the yard in early June 2023, our sailboat, Abide, went back in the water… but it wasn’t yet habitable. It didn’t seem like we were far off, though, with visions of being out on the water within the next couple of months. How wrong we were… In this episode, our captain Roland and I continue the story of Abide's refit during the second...

Are you feeling hungry? You will be after listening to this episode! Vanessa, our chef on board our sailboat, Abide (and Roland’s wife), joins me on this episode to give us a behind the scenes look into life as a private chef on the sea. We discover Vanessa’s story of how she got involved in chartering, despite having no initial sailing experience. Vanessa is now part of our crew where she uses he...

A huge project like restoring a 136-foot sailboat, doesn’t happen in a bubble. While our captain, Roland, and the crew were hard at work with Front Street Shipyard in Belfast all sorts of unexpected challenges were cropping up that made us put the whole endeavour into perspective. In this episode, we dive back into the refit of Abide during the winter of 2022.  As the refit continues, Roland...

It was a cold December night back in 2022.  Abide was tucked up in the warmth of her shed at Front Street Shipyard.  Roland was slowly killing his Christmas tree…  In this episode we jump back into the refit story, picking up where we left off in the winter of ‘22. Our 136-foot sailboat, Abide, was undergoing an intensive refit. Our captain, Roland, joins me again to share stories f...

JB Turner had a vision. A vision for a shipyard unlike any other in Belfast, Maine. A shipyard that could take on bigger projects, and energise the community. And in 2011, JB and his partners got started with building Front Street Shipyard. Abide is currently sitting inside Front Street waiting to be painted. But in this episode, we’re taking you back to how it all started. JB shares with us his s...

How much do you need to pay someone to step into an empty black water tank…? We pick up where we left off in episode 5, with Roland and the crew setting things in motion at Front Street Shipyard, Maine. Our sailboat, Abide was being hauled out of the water and unloaded in the shed. In this episode, we’re diving into the process and the challenges behind restoring Abide to her original beauty - and...

Buying a boat is easier said than done. And finding the right one isn’t that simple either. Thankfully, we had Michael Bach on our side when we bought our sailboat, Abide. Michael joins me in this episode to share his story of becoming a broker which started out working in shipyards and racing. We then uncover the process we went through together of finding the right boat and arranging the purchas...

Now the real work begins…  We’re picking up where we left off in episode 3 with our captain Roland. In this part of the story, the boat (Abide) is still in the water at the shipyard in Belfast, Maine, but we’re gearing up to haul her out and get started on the refit. This was the biggest project that Roland had undertaken. We speak about how we chose the shipyard, the work that went into gett...

It turns out, there’s more to a sailboat than a sail and a mast…  After acquiring our 136-foot sailboat, Abide, we discovered something we weren’t expecting to find that sent us down a rabbit hole (and I’m not talking about the 23 jars of mint jelly…). We found a huge binder of records relating to the original design and purchase of the boat. We’re talking notes from meetings, emails, and eve...

Last week we shared with you the first part of the story of how Roland came to be the captain of our 136-foot sailboat, Abide. This week, you’ll discover the rest of the story. We were about to start the refit and Roland was boarding Abide for the first time. He was greeted with a frosty reception from the old crew… but this only strengthened the resolve to make this work. Abide hadn’t been mainta...

We love a challenge. And this story is all about jumping in head first. In episode one I uncovered the story of how our adventure began, from the first time Bill and I went sailing, to coming to own a 136-foot sailboat. If you haven’t listened to episode one already, start there! In this episode, I’m joined by our intrepid captain Roland, who without him, our adventure might not have been possible...