Logbook Aleutians - Insurance - Health A possible detour through the Aleutians, an unexpectedly successful LinkedIn post, a tense moment with the insurance underwriter, closing the GenoFAB chapter, and a health check before departure
Letters from the Dock An Immigrant Pursuit of Happiness A prompt from the New York Times made me ask myself: What does the pursuit of happiness really mean?
Letters from the Edge Le Glacier du Tour The Glacier du Tour was the first glacier I ever set foot on in 1979. A recent photograph made me realize that the icy world that shaped that memory is rapidly disappearing from the landscape above Le Tour.
Letters from the Dock Stay With the Boat I went into my STCW Personal Survival Techniques course curious about the white box we call a life raft. I came out with good memories and something that felt surprisingly like wisdom.
Letters from the Edge Uncomfortable Miles Working on climate change has not reduced my carbon footprint — it has increased it. In the quiet hours of jet lag, I wrestle with the uncomfortable tension between engagement and purity, intention and combustion.
Letters from the Dock Learning to Say Mayday To register my boat under the UK flag, I had to earn the right to press the red distress button on a marine VHF radio. Learning to say “Mayday” turned into a reflection on autonomy, communication systems, and the psychological difficulty of asking for help — whether in the air or at sea.
Logbook Hope in the Air Four hours. Seventeen kilometers. One song on repeat. Hope in the Air is not a song about hope, but about responsibility when illusions fall away.
Letters from the Dock Viewing at the Dock A quiet first encounter at the dock becomes something larger: not excitement, not certainty, but the sudden awareness that once something becomes real, responsibility follows.
Logbook Waitangi Day Standing in Paihia, next to the treaty grounds, I encountered a national day shaped by remembrance, restraint, and an unresolved shared history — one that quietly challenged the triumphalist narratives I’ve grown used to elsewhere.
Letters from the Dock Two Days From Shore In Europe, you are almost never more than two days from land. When distance is translated into time, insurance limits stop looking abstract and start mapping directly onto lived risk—fatigue, darkness, and exposure at sea.
Logbook Visiting New Zealand (or Not) I’ve been in New Zealand for a week. Most of it has been spent in a hotel room, focused on surveys, registration, and the narrow timeline required to leave on time.
Letters from the Dock What is a Yacht Delivery? From time to time, boats need to be moved, not cruised. The undertaking is never trivial.
Logbook First Impressions from New Zealand They are physical and immediate: strong wind, a cool maritime summer, and the realization that the Pacific is more than a route, but a vast commitment.
Letters from the Dock Meet Rosemary A custom aluminum expedition boat from the Joubert-Nivelt / Meta lineage, closely aligned with the Ice Frontiers mission.
Logbook Risk Management Charter A personal charter defining hard financial limits, enforced exit conditions, and the ethical boundaries of risk in the Ice Frontiers project.
Letters from the Dock Bluewater Sailing: When Insurance and Taxes Set the Course I expected the weather to set the course. I didn’t expect insurance and taxes to do it first.
Letters from the Dock Messy Boats, Messy Sales Is this an invitation to move in with the owner or an offer to buy their boat?
