Ellen

Alaska Reel

Here’s a short video I’ve been working on recently, of the beauty of Alaska. I picked some of my favorite footage of wildlife, scenery, and sailing from summers there aboard CELESTE. Hope you enjoy it! (I’ve embedded it from Vimeo because I kind of prefer it, although I’ve also uploaded the video to YouTube. IfContinue reading “Alaska Reel”

Earth Day 2020

Today is the 50th anniversary of Earth Day! To celebrate, I thought I’d share some photos of the flowers that are blooming here this spring. I’m so grateful to be able to see such beauty everyday. (And I’m also very proud of our orchids!)

Celebrating offshore sailing: CCA awards

Here is a great article about this year’s Cruising Club of America awards. I already mentioned Jean-Luc Van Den Heede‘s incredible achievements in an earlier post, but I thought my readers would also enjoy hearing about the other awardees. The French solo sailor Guirec Soudée is the winner of this year’s Young Voyager Award, andContinue reading “Celebrating offshore sailing: CCA awards”

Congratulations, Jean-Luc! 2019 Blue Water Medal goes to French offshore racer Jean-Luc Van Den Heede

I thought my readers might enjoy the press release about the remarkable sailing achievements of Jean-Luc Van Den Heede, this year’s recipient of the Cruising Club of America’s highest honor, the Blue Water Medal. (I ghost-wrote the release 😉)

South Pacific Starry Night

Now that a little time has passed since SAIL magazine published our “Starry Night” photo as their double-page spread opener in July, I wanted to share the photo here – it’s one of my all-time favorites 🙂

BoKoa Farms and Forest Video

We recently created a video for BoKoa Farms and Forest, an off-grid farm on slopes of Mauna Kea on the island of Hawai’i. They practice restorative forestry, reducing invasive plant species and propagating native and endemic ones. Specifically, they remove strawberry guava and chip it, creating a great product for use in grilling and smoking:Continue reading “BoKoa Farms and Forest Video”

Critter Post 6: Least Auklet

Another bird-nerd critter post! I have a soft spots for goofy-looking birds and they don’t get much goofier than auklets. On our sail to the Arctic, Seth and I spent several days on St Paul island in the central Bering Sea, binoculars and cameras trained on cliffs full of nesting auklets. It was a toss-upContinue reading “Critter Post 6: Least Auklet”

Critter Post 5: Snowy Owl

All my critter posts so far have focused on mammals, but we see so many interesting birds while sailing that I thought it was time for an avian critter post. We were lucky enough to see a snowy owl on the tundra of Alaska’s North Slope. We watched him for hours as he swept lowContinue reading “Critter Post 5: Snowy Owl”

Critter Post 4: American Mink

Sailing south through the Alaska Panhandle, we spotted our first American mink, the animal I’ve decided to make the subject of my fourth Critter Post. Basic Facts:

Critter Post 3: Caribou

Despite a paucity of images, I’ve decided to write about the caribou for Critter Post 3. Caribou are an integral part of life in the Arctic and we were lucky enough to see one on the shore of the Beaufort Sea on Alaska’s North Slope – quite the sight, the lone antlered creature on theContinue reading “Critter Post 3: Caribou”

Critter Post 2: American Black Bear

I’ve decided to make the American Black Bear the subject of Critter Post No. 2. For those of you who didn’t see Critter Post 1, the inspiration for this series came from fellow blogger, sailor, and birder who writes a regular Bird Photography Challenge post on her site s/v Take It Easy.

Critter Post 1: Steller Sea Lion

As many of you know, the wildlife we see on our voyages is one the big highlights of sailing for us. So I’ve decided to try out a few posts exclusively about critters. This is mostly inspired by fellow birder, sailor, and blogger Chris of s/v Take It Easy, who writes informative posts about birdContinue reading “Critter Post 1: Steller Sea Lion”