Magazines
48° North Magazine
Featured articles
Here are links to a sampling of articles that appeared in the magazine. Click the links to read full articles.
In Reflecting on the Joys and Challenges of Cruising with Kids, Irene writes about her experiences keeping kids busy and engaged while cruising and the rewards it reaped. One night, sitting in our pilothouse while the kids and their guests from two neighboring boats hung out in the salon, we overheard them talking about sail changes in the middle of the night; taking the Nakwakto rapids during its few minutes of slack; and wildlife stories, the stuff of legend. Dan & I looked at each other. “This is why we do this,” I whispered.
In You Know More Than You Think You Do, Irene offers encouragement to women sailors who all too often sell themselves short when it comes to their role in the boating experience. By the time we sold our house and moved aboard, we had spent 20 years cruising between Seattle and Prince Rupert. Nonetheless, I continued to sell myself short when it came to my role in our boating life. “You know more than you think you do,” Dan always reminded me when I bemoaned feelings of ineptitude. “Osmosis is a powerful learning tool.”
In For Earth, Oceans and Each Other, Irene reflects on the lessons learned regarding boaters’ role in preserving our precious environment. Thirty years of cruising and twelve of living aboard have, in effect, rewired my brain. I’ve learned and incorporated new habits, automatically making choices that suit our lifestyle but also that are in line with what experience has shown us is important. Living in close proximity to nature, I am keenly aware of our responsibility to protect the creatures with whom we share our marine environment. They depend on us to keep their habitat healthy.
All in the Same Boat: Living Aboard During Covid offered a glimpse at the liveaboard experience during the pandemic. Liveaboards are keenly aware of the advantages of life on the dock during the best of times. Water and mountains surround us daily. We feel connected to nature and our neighbors. But how are people faring during this pandemic? I set out to talk to people – from a safe, six-plus foot distance – and find out.
Real Simple, 2017
Irene won first place in Real Simple’s 2017 Good Reads essay contest. Her essay, Home Waters, answered the question, “What’s the most dramatic change you’ve ever had to make?”
Here is an excerpt from that essay: After a month or more on the water, I often said, “I wish we lived on the boat full-time. I could do this.” And I really believed I could. The universe has a bothersome way of calling your bluff. When faced with the actual prospect of leaving our sweet house and squeezing onto the boat full-time, I was filled with anxiety. I lost sleep. I dug in my heels. I didn’t want to do it. I was so busted. ...
Emergence, Nonviolence in Review
Featured Essay
Irene’s essay, The Life Boat, describes the peace that came over her family as they cruised into the Pacific Northwest Coast’s rainforest.
I believe now that our brains were rewired as we slowly, slowly began finding our natural rhythm. A rhythm as natural to the human brain as the tides and wind are to the sea. We grew accustomed to stillness. Our boat became a sanctuary that nurtured our family’s unique culture and gave us memories that would become part of us. Even when life became so busy that we could barely remember what it felt like to be this free.
