Blue Water Sailing — Charlotte Austin

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Blue Water Sailing

“Meet two kick-ass women: Lisa Cole (45) and Rhonda Lyon (51). Cole is a sassy redhead with a lightning-fast tongue; Lyon is a strong-and-silent blond who gives the unmistakable impression that she doesn’t miss a thing. They both live in Seattle, and together they are quietly redefining the way women learn to sail.”

— “SheSails Seattle,” Blue Water Sailing Magazine, October 2015.

“Fact: Americans need more time off. We take notoriously few paid vacation days each year: 12, compared to 25 in Japan, 28 in Australia, and a whopping 42 in Italy. It’s not because we’re chained to our desks; in 2010, the average American worker earned 15 paid vacation days but left three unused. We’re less productive than our European counterparts, but they’re healthier, more creative, and less stressed. So what gives?”

— “You’ll Outlive the Bastards,” Blue Water Sailing Magazine, August 2014.

“We are at anchor in a quiet cove, sipping coffee and listening to tiny waves lap at our hull. Mist moves slowly across the cold saltwater. Suddenly we’re aware of a presence – a huge shape moving under the water, a puff of air at the surface. The black outline of the whale’s body is hard to discern, but I can see white as he moves along the edge of a kelp forest. A slick fin rises out of the water, and we realize a pod of orcas has surrounded our small sailboat.”

—“Understanding Killer Whales: A Cruiser’s Guide,” Blue Water Sailing Magazine. May 2014.

“As we loaded the Zodiac and slowly moved away from the shore, I looked back toward the pole, visible through the trees. I thought about the orcas we’d seen that morning, which seemed to be leading us toward the gathering. I thought about the people who traveled the coast for thousands of years in hand-carved cedar canoes. I thought about what it means to bear witness, and what it means for a place to be wild and true.”

—“We Come To Bear Witness: Sailing Haida Gwaii,” Blue Water Sailing Magazine. February 2014.

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