3 Things I Learned About Writing From Nancy Drew | IWSG

During April, I participated in the A to Z Blogging Challenge, where bloggers come together to indulge in a bit of communal insanity, by posting on their blogs every day during the month (except Sundays – even the insane need a day off). It’s a great way to discover new blogs, learn new things (like how to kill someone through ectopia), join in a virtual community of like-minded people, and have an opportunity to practice writing in a supportive environment.

When I did the challenge last year, practicing my writing really wasn’t the goal. It was all about surviving, about churning out 26 random blog posts during the month. But, this year, I wanted to focus more on my writing, as well as add an extra dash of craziness to the whole endeavor by using a theme. And that theme was Nancy Drew, America’s favorite teenage girl detective.

Basically, I wrote a short story featuring Nancy’s investigation into the perplexing “Case of the Missing Anchor,” and presented it in installments aligned to each day’s letter (A is for Anchor, B is for Boatyard etc.)

While it was a form of story-telling, I didn’t stress out too much about it because, hey, it’s a blog, and no one expects too much from a blog, least of all me. Blogs, in my mind, are meant to be fun, informal ways of expressing yourself and sharing snippets of your life. Yes, I do realize that there are more professional or business related blogs out there, but mine is a far cry from that, so I felt no pressure whatsoever about impressing anyone.

It turned out to be a great way to practice my writing without freaking out, as well as put it out there for others to read. More importantly, it was fun. Given the struggles I’ve been having trying to finish a decent draft of this mystery novel I’m working on, it was nice to just write something silly and have a bit of a laugh. Imagine my surprise when I realized that, in the midst of all this silliness, I had actually learned a few things about writing from Nancy Drew herself.

1 – Sometimes your main character isn’t as much fun to write for as you thought she would be.

In the classic Nancy Drew mysteries, Nancy is clearly the star of the show. After all, the books are named after her. Nancy is poised, charming, clever, kind, immaculately dressed and she always cracks the case. But, she’s a snooze. I can’t relate to her at all. Sure, I’d like to be more like her and have her wardrobe, but I don’t really get her and there were times I got bored writing for her.

Now, her friend, Bess Marvin, she’s my kind of girl. Ditzy, nervous, inept at most things and a serious sugar addict - Bess is fun to write for. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud as I wrote about Bess’s latest goof-ups and binge eating episodes. I secretly hoped that Bess would engineer some sort of coup d’etat, push Nancy overboard, steal her beau, Ned Nickerson, and take over the dastardly ring of thieves stealing stuff at the marina.

However, Nancy knew better (and doesn’t she always) and convinced me to stick to convention, letting Nancy solve the case while Bess remained in her role as faithful sidekick, along with her cousin George. Thankfully, Nancy did let me know that when it comes to writing my mystery novel, I should feel free to let my characters battle it out and if someone more interesting than my original main character comes along, a coup d’etat would be perfectly fine, as long as there were plenty of chocolate chip cookies to console the losers with.

2 – Third person can be rather impersonal.
 
Does third person ring a bell? Take a trip back down memory lane to your English classes at school. Imagine Mrs. Smythe scowling at the class and standing up at the blackboard writing down words like he, she, it, they etc. That’s third person – writing about things from the point of view of a someone who isn’t you or me. I wrote my Nancy Drew story in third person, because that’s the way they’ve always been done and who am I to challenge convention, what with Nancy at my side reminding me of the importance of convention, especially when it comes to matching shoes and handbags and demure hemlines. All of my earlier drafts of my mystery novel were in third person as well.

Until I had a revelation. Actually, it was less of a revelation and more of Bess shouting inside my head saying things like, “Let me out of here! Get rid of the Nancy chick! She’ll dull! She’s dragging this story down!” Bess talks with a lot of exclamation points. It’s annoying sometimes. But, once I gave Bess some brownies to shut her up so I could get a few minutes peace, I realized that it was almost like I was talking, not Bess. "I" as in the first person.

If Bess had engineered a coup d’etat during the “Case of the Missing Anchor,” I’m pretty sure she would have taken over the story and we would have been hearing from her directly, in a much more personal way.

I know how this works from experience, because the main character of mystery novel recently took control, demanded to be heard and now I’m writing everything in first person. Things are going much more smoothly. And, yes, I know that first person isn’t what all the cool kids use when they’re writing, but let’s face it, this isn’t going to be any literary masterpiece that I churn out, so the first person will do just fine. Plus, it’s a lot more personal.

3 – I don’t have a long attention span.

I found it relatively easy to write the “Case of the Missing Anchor” because it’s short (around 15,000 words). Granted, it’s an incredibly simplistic plot so I didn’t need a lot of words to get the case solved. Chunking it into letters made each piece of writing I needed to do even shorter and more manageable.

When I try to work on my mystery novel, it seems so overwhelming at times (I’m aiming for 75,000 words) and no matter how I try to chunk things up mentally, I still get blocked. Perhaps, I just have a short attention span or I’m easily distracted by shiny things and episodes of House of Cards.

Nancy told me that I just have to suck it up and get on with it. Of course, everything comes easily to Nancy. Did you know that she’s a New York Times bestselling author? She writes under the pen name of Carolyn Keene so that people in River Heights don’t constantly ask her for her autograph. Now, that you’ve seen this other side of Nancy, you can probably understand why I was hoping for a coup d’etat by Bess.

Tips on how to channel my inner Nancy and cope with writing a novel-length manuscript would be gratefully received.

Whether you participated in the A to Z Challenge or just enjoyed reading everyone’s A to Z blog posts, what was the best part of the challenge for you? Did you learn anything new and interesting? 

Linked up with the Insecure Writers' Support Group.



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Z Is For Zodiac | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.   

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When we last left you, Nancy hid in the lazarette to escape detection and noticed that the crew of Party Palace were dumping their waste directly overboard. As she was pondering their disregard for the environment, she decided to call for help on the VHF, but then Pete and Donny discovered her hiding place.

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Donny grabbed Nancy and pulled her out of the lazarette while Pete sneered and said, “Well, what do we have here? Someone sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. Who would have thought a teenage girl could be so much trouble.” He grabbed a piece of line and tossed it to Donny. “Go ahead an tie her up and stick her back in the lazarette where you found her. We’ll figure out what to do with her once Captain Gus gets here.”

As Donny pulled Nancy’s arms tightly behind her and started to tie her up, a bright light shone off of their port side. A loud voice boomed out, “Attention Sailing Vessel Party Palace, Attention Sailing Vessel Party Palace, this is the United States Coast Guard. Prepare to be boarded.”

Donny quickly let go of Nancy and dived over the side of the boat. Pete started to climb out of the cockpit and make for the dinghy attached to the side, but Nancy was too quick for him. She had fashioned the line that Donny was going to tie her up with into a lasso and flung it around Pete, pulling tightly and causing him to lose his balance and fall onto the deck of the boat.

“Miss, are you okay?” shouted one of the Guardsman as they pulled up alongside Party Palace in their tender.

“I’m fine. I’ve got this one tied up,” Nancy answered as she pointed to Pete struggling to get out of the line coiled around him. “But, you better go after his accomplice. He dived off the boat and it looks like he’s trying to swim to shore.” Nancy watched as the Guardsmen raced after Donny, scooped him out of the water and into their boat. A few minutes later, two of the Guardsmen had boarded Party Palace.

“I’m so glad to see you,” said Nancy. “You came just in the nick of time!”

“We heard your distress call over the VHF and a young man had reported that you were in danger to us earlier,” said the older of the two men as he pulled Pete up to his feet. “That’s some very quick thinking, tossing a lasso around this fellow here.”

“Oh, it was nothing. I learned how to do that when I was solving the 'Mystery of the Old Stagecoach,'” Nancy said modestly.

“Wait a minute,” said the Guardsman. “I know who you are. You’re Nancy Drew, Carson Drew’s daughter! I’m Petty Officer Stan Lebonski. I’d shake your hand, but I’ve got to keep an eye on this guy.”

He tightened his grip on Pete, turned to his partner and said, “Can you imagine that, Lou. We’re in the company of America’s Favorite Girl Detective! This young lady is famous. She’s a crack investigator and solves all sorts of mysteries.”

Lou’s jaw dropped in amazement. “Wow, It’s so nice to meet you, miss. I’m Seaman Lou Potter,” he said as he shook Nancy’s hand. "What case are you investigating now?”

Nancy smiled and said, “Well, we’ve been calling it 'The Case of the Missing Anchor.' It all started when my friends’ anchor was stolen at the marina, along with equipment from lots of other boats. We discovered that Captain Gus from Xebec Charters was the ringleader of a dastardly group of criminals who were stealing marine equipment and then reselling it to unsupecting people.” Nancy pointed at Pete. “This man is Captain Gus’s nephew and the man you caught trying to swim to shore is one of their accomplices.”

Lou nodded and said, “There had been some rumors that someone was fencing stolen marine equipment, but no one could find any proof.”

Nancy reached into her pocket and pulled out the piece of paper she had found hidden in the model of a xebec ship earlier. “I think this might be the proof that you and the police need. It’s a list of all of the goods that they’ve stolen and how much they sold them for. It’s even got names and dates on it.” Nancy grinned and said, “And to top that off, you can find some of the stolen goods in the v-berth down below. These guys were going to move the goods from this boat over to that white catamaran across the way, Party Time.”

“With that evidence, we should have these guys behind bars in no time,” said Lou.

Nancy furrowed her brow and said, “The only problem is that we still need to nab Captain Gus. He was the mastermind behind this whole operation.”

“Did you say he ran Xebec Charters?” asked Lou. “If so, I think we’ve got our man. We boarded a boat called Xebec earlier tonight and conducted a safety inspection. While were were onboard, we found a number of serious infractions and took the Captain into custody.”

As Nancy breathed a sigh of relief, she heard the sound of an outboard motor and a voice call out, “Nancy, are you there?”

Nancy peeked over the side of the boat and saw a dinghy with Marvin, Shelley, George, Bess and Ned in it all waving and smiling at her. Lou said to Nancy, “Why don’t you head off with your friends and get some rest. We can touch base with you tomorrow to get more information as needed.”

As Nancy climbed down onto the swim platform, Ned helped her into the dinghy, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. He whispered into her ear, “I’m so glad you’re safe. I was so worried about you, but I should have known that you would be fine. You're such an amazing girl.”

Nancy smiled at Ned, sat down on the side of the dinghy and said, “It’s so good to see you all.”

Bess stared anxiously at Nancy. “Are you okay? I can’t believe you were on that boat when it took off.” As Bess looked at Nancy, she noted a stain on her friend’s bermuda shorts. “What happened there?”

“Oh, that must have happened when I was hiding in the lazarette,” Nancy said as she tried to brush off the grime

As Bess let out a gulp, George asked, “What did you find out when you were on board?”

“You’ll never believe it,” said Nancy as her eyes sparkled. “I found evidence that Captain Gus and his cronies were behind everything.”

“Now, now girls, let’s stop pestering Nancy with questions. We’ll take her back to our boat, let her clean up and then we’ll all have some lemon bars and cocoa while Nancy tells us all about her adventure,” said Shelley.

“That’s a very sensible idea, dear,” said Marvin as started the outboard motor and pointed them out into the bay.

As they sped across the water, Bess said to Nancy, “Did you see what type of dinghy this is? It’s a Zodiac, like in astrology. I bet if we looked up your horoscope it would say something about avoiding dangerous situations. I think it’s a sign that you should stop investigating mysteries.”

George rolled her eyes, “It’s just like you Bess to bring up horoscopes and astrology at a time like this. Nancy is fine and she solved the case.”

Nancy smiled at her two best friends. “I don’t know, maybe Bess is right and it is a sign. A sign that our next case is going to be ‘The Secret in the Chinese Horoscope.’ Wouldn’t that be fun! We could go sailing in China and solve another mystery.”

And that wraps up the A to Z Blogging Challenge! Thanks to everyone who stuck with us from the letter A all the way to the letter Z. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming and random nonsense on the blog on Monday.

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Our old Zodiac Zoom dinghy tied up behind our first boat, Rainbow's End, in New Zealand.

Dinghies (or tenders) are like cars to cruisers. They use them to get from their boat to shore and to transport stuff back and forth. There are different types of dinghies - inflatable ones with either solid or inflatable floors, rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) which have a solid V-shaped bottom and hard dinghies. (Check out this article on Cruising World for more information.)

Zodiac is a popular maker of dinghies. We used to have a Zodiac Zoom 230 Aero dinghy in New Zealand, but had terrible troubles with its oar locks (you can read about it here). We had to use our dinghy to get back and forth to our boat on our piling mooring, and because we stored our outboard motor on our boat, Scott had to row us to and from our boat. We had some dicey situations where the oar locks would break, the wind would be against us and Scott would have to paddle with one oar from the front of the dinghy desperately trying to get us to the dock.

Our new boat came with a Caribe RIB dinghy and a 9.9 hp outboard, which worked fine for us when we were in the Bahamas. We'll see how it holds up once we're back out there cruising again. Hopefully, we get out there cruising again one of these days.

Thanks to everyone for following along with our "Nancy Drew Investigates" series. We hope you had as much fun as we did! I'd love to know what you thought and if you think Nancy should make another appearance in next year's challenge.

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Y Is For Y-Valve | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.  

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When we last left you, Nancy found a replica model of a xebec boat in the v-berth and discovered Captain Gus's list of stolen goods hidden inside. Knowing that Pete and Donny would be coming back to the v-berth to move the loot, she made her way to the cockpit, hoping to escape from their evil clutches.

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Nancy looked around the cockpit and noticed a lazarette underneath the bench on the port side. She opened the lid and peeked inside. Normally, she would have expected to find equipment like extra line, jerry cans or a spare anchor in a storage locker like this, but it was completely empty, except for what looked like a large tank in the rear. She quickly jumped inside and lowered the lid behind her.

Nancy grabbed her flashlight out of the pocket of her jacket and turned it on. Shining the flashlight around the lazarette, Nancy noticed a horrible smell. Oh no, she thought to herself, Of all the luck. I jumped into the lazarette which has the holding tank in it. No wonder it smells so bad in here!
 
Nancy held the flashlight up to the holding tank and saw that it was completely full. When was the last time they had emptied it? she wondered. Then, she noticed that the Y-valve, which controls whether sewage from the marine toilet goes into the holding tank or directly overboard, wasn’t locked off properly. She couldn’t believe it. Not only were the crew of Party Palace running a dastardly operation to steal marine equipment and then pass it off as legitimate second hand merchandise to unsuspecting buyers, they were also discharging their sewage directly into the water! Why didn’t they just get their holding tank pumped out instead of bypassing it with the Y-valve?

Nancy decided that the Y-valve was the least of her worries and turned on the portable VHF. After making sure she was on channel 16, she pressed the talk button and quietly said, “This is sailing vessel Party Palace. This is sailing vessel Party Palace. This is a distress call. I'm trapped on Party Palace in X Cove with...”

Just then, the lid to the lazarette was yanked open and the two men were glaring down at Nancy. “Look what we have here,” said Donny. “It’s that nosy girl from the marina. Didn’t you get my warnings to stay out of our business?!”

Tune in on Saturday for the final installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – Z is for Zodiac.

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The y-valve on our boat. If you look closely, and you know something about y-valves, then you may notice that something isn't quite right. Can you guess what it is?

Nancy is kind of a goody two-shoes. Given the fact that her father is a well known attorney, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Nancy is well versed in marine regulations regarding discharge of sewage in US waters. Only Nancy would think about how Captain Gus and his crew are flagrantly violating regulations while she's hiding in a lazarette to avoid detection.

In case you're not up on the regulations, like Nancy is, here's the scoop on how it works in the States. It's illegal to discharge untreated sewage in inland waters or within three miles from shore. That means that you either need to have a porta-potty, store all of your sewage in a holding tank (what I affectionately call our PPB, or pee and poo box) and have it pumped out ashore, or have a treatment device that macerates and disinfects your sewage. Ick, I know.

While some countries regulate discharge of sewage, others don't and boaters discharge their untreated sewage directly overboard. In many cases, there simply aren't facilities to pump-out holding tanks, so there's no point in using them. If you're in a crowded anchorage, it pays to have a look around before you jump in the water for a refreshing swim. Yeah, I know, ick again.

That's probably more than you wanted to know about marine sewage, but if, for some odd reason, you want to know more about how bathrooms (or heads), holding tanks and Y-valves on boats work, then check out my slightly quirky take here.

Have you ever had to empty a holding tank on a boat or RV before? If not, would you be willing to give it a go?

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X Is For Xebec | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.  

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When we last left you, Nancy was hiding in the v-berth when one of the men heard her make a noise and went to investigate. Armed with a winch handle, Nancy nervously watch the doorknob turn and worried about getting caught.

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As Nancy braced herself for the door to the v-berth to come flying open, she heard Pete say decisively. “Knock it off. I’m the captain of this boat and what I say goes. Now get up on deck and we’re going to check that anchor out. After we’re done with that, we’ll start moving the stuff out of the v-berth.”

Nancy breathed a sigh of relief and sat back down on the v-berth cushion. As she set the winch handle next to the bolts of Sunbrella fabric, she noticed a small wooden model of a ship. She got her flashlight out of her pocket and looked at it closely.

Noticing its distinctive overhanging bowsprit and the aft-set mizzen mast, Nancy instantly knew it was a replica of a xebec. As she turned it over, she noticed a small indentation on the bottom. She pushed down on it and the bottom of the model boat popped open. Inside she found a rolled up piece of paper.

Could this be the list Captain Gus was talking about, Nancy wondered. Realizing that she needed to get out of the v-berth before she was discovered, Nancy put the piece of paper in her pocket, closed the model boat back up, put it back where she found it and grabbed the portable VHF.

Cautiously opening the door to the v-berth, Nancy peeked out into the salon. Not seeing anyone, she crept over to the companionway, climbed up the ladder and poked her head out. She saw the two men at the bow of the boat arguing over the anchor. Nancy looked across the cove and saw Party Time, the white catamaran anchored nearby.

The men’s argument grew louder.

“You’re always grumbling about the anchor. It looks fine. We gotta get this stuff moved before Captain Gus gets here.”

“Fine, we’ll check it again later. Come on, you get the dinghy down and I’ll get the first load from the v-berth.”

Nancy’s eyes got wider as she realized they would be making their way back to the cockpit.

Tune in on Friday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – Y is for Y-Valve.

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Image courtesy of The Graphics Fairy.

There aren't that many English words that start with the letter X, so I was delighted to find a nautical themed one that I could use in my Nancy Drew series - xebec (last year I went with xenophobia). As Nancy already knows (and what doesn't she know?), a xebec was a Mediterranean sailing ship with a long bowsprit and an aft-set mizzen mast.

Don't know what a bowsprit or a mizzen mast is? Join the club. I'm kind of clueless when it comes to all of this sailing stuff too. Basically, a bowsprit is a pointy thing that sticks off the front of the boat and the mizzen mast is a pointy thing that sticks up out of the deck. Pointy things are important when it comes to sailing. Along with plenty of snacks, as Bess would tell you.

You'll notice I don't have a picture of a xebec. That's because they were used in the olden days, before cameras were invented and long before I was born. Plus, I'm quite wary of using images on our blog that we didn't take and getting sued by someone for copyright infringement, so if you want to have a look at some pretty pictures of xebecs, check out Wikipedia.

For those of you who share my paranoia about getting sued for large sums of money that you don't have (you can read more about it here under point 6), but like to jazz your blog up with pretty images, check out The Graphics Fairy. She has all sorts of vintage images which you can freely use. Having said that, she does have a disclaimer on her site saying that she can't guarantee that everything is royalty free and that every country has its own copyright regulations, so you do take your chances, but the images, like the sea lions above, are charming. (Charming is a word Nancy would use, don't you think?)

What about you - what's your favorite word that starts with X?

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W Is For Watch | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.   

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When we last left you, two men had boarded the boat Nancy was hidden on, started up the engine and pulled out of the marina. Nancy realized that the men were Pete, Captain Gus's nephew, and Donny, the man on the white catamaran who tried to hurt Nancy at the marina, threatened other boats and stole a dinghy.

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Nancy tried opening the hatch in the ceiling of the v-berth to crawl out onto deck and make her escape, but it wouldn’t budge no matter how hard she pushed on it. Realizing that she might have to confront the two men, she grabbed a winch handle to use in self-defense if necessary.

Putting her ear up to the door between the v-berth and the salon, Nancy heard the men argue about the weather.

“I’m telling you, the forecast says that the wind is going to shift and get up to 30 knots tonight. This cove is notorious for poor holding, especially with winds like that.”

“That’s what makes it perfect. Other boaters never come here. It’s an ideal place to move the goods between the two boats.”

Nancy determined that they must be anchored in Witch Tree Cove on the south side of Grande Isle. The marina was located in the more protected cove on the north side. She hoped that Ned had been able to warn the others that she had been on Party Palace when it left the marina. But, would they know to look for her in Witch Tree Cove, especially as boats didn’t typically anchor here?

As Nancy puzzled over this, she noticed a portable VHF radio lying underneath bolts of Sunbrella fabric. She picked it up and examined it. When she turned the power switch on, the VHF started crackling loudly. She quickly turned down the volume, but it was too late.

“Did you hear that, Pete? I think I heard something in the v-berth,” said Donny.

“That’s your overactive imagination again. It’s probably just a mouse. Captain Gus just got a cat to get rid of them. Come on, let’s go out on deck. I want to make sure that anchor is well set, given the winds that we’re going to get. I think we’ll also have to take turns keeping anchor watch tonight as well.”

Donny huffed. “I’m not imagining anything. There’s something in there and it’s not a mouse! I’m going to go check it out.”

Nancy grabbed the winch handle tightly as the knob on the door to the v-berth started to turn.

Tune in on Thursday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – X is for Xebec.

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The dark and spooky sky after we dropped the anchor off of Waiheke Island in New Zealand after having to move in the middle of the night when the winds changed.

While we trust our Rocna anchor to keep us safe and secure, there are times when you have to keep anchor watch, to make sure that your boat doesn't drag and either hit other boats in the anchorage or end up damaged on a reef or the shore. Anchor watch isn't a lot of fun. But, it's part and parcel of cruising. For all of the incredible highs of living on a boat, there are lots of lows, like sitting up in the middle of the night, listening to the howling wind and wondering if your anchor will hold.

I remember the first night I did anchor watch, sitting up in the cockpit, huddled under a blanket looking out at the starry sky and cursing Scott for sleeping so soundly while time ticked away so slowly during my watch. Isn't amazing how quickly time goes when you're having fun and how slowly it marches on when you'd rather be doing something else? Fortunately, we didn't drag that night.  Although, I think some other boats did.

Have you ever stayed up all night worried about something destroying your house, like a tornado, high winds, forest fire etc.? 

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V Is For V-Berth | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.  

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When we last left you, Ned had left his watch at the dock when he heard a girl scream on the beach. When he went to help her, she told him that she had sprained her ankle, but what she was really doing was distracting Ned so that Party Palace could make a getaway. One problem - Nancy was on board!

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When Nancy heard the two men speaking on deck, she quickly looked for a place to hide. She opened the door to the v-berth and ducked inside. As she closed the door, she looked around in astonishment at all of the nautical equipment and goods stowed on the v-shaped berth. She saw a Rocna anchor, winch handles, bolts of Sunbrella fabric, an outboard motor, chart plotters and a windlass, among other things.

Now, if only she could find the list that she heard Captain Gus talking about. It supposedly had details of all of the items they had stolen and how much they had sold them for. Between the list and all of the equipment stored in the v-berth, there should be no problem putting Captain Gus and his gang away for a long time.

Suddenly, Nancy heard the noise of the engine starting up and the two men shouting at each other.

“Quick, let’s get out of here,” one of the men said. “Nellie is distracting that chump standing at the end of the dock so that we can make a clean getaway.”

“No problem, Pete. Let me just get the bow and stern lines and we’ll be good to go,” said the other man.

“Hurry it up, Donny,” said Pete with an irritated tone to his voice.

Nancy suddenly remembered where she had heard that voice before. Donny was the suspicious man on the white catamaran who had pushed Nancy to the ground in the boatyard, tried to ram her boat and another boat, as well as stranded two people on the beach when he stole their dinghy. She knew it – the white catamaran, Party Time, was in cahoots with the boat she was on, Party Palace!

Nancy felt the boat pull away from the dock and head out into the bay. She wondered where they were headed. Were they going to rendezvous with Captain Gus somewhere?

As the boat motored along, Nancy moved some of the boat equipment aside and sat down on the v-berth to think about what she should do next. While she was mulling over her options, the boat slowed down and she heard the two men talking to each other.

“This looks like a good place to drop the anchor,” Pete said. “Why don’t you head up to the bow and get it ready.”

Nancy heard footsteps along the deck, a creaking noise as the anchor locker opened, followed by a splash as the anchor and chain were dropped into the water.

“All set, Pete,” said Donny. “Party Time isn’t anchored too far away. I figure we’ll have to do a few trips in the dinghy to get all of the stuff moved over there.”

Nancy froze as she realized that they were going to be coming into the v-berth to get all of the stolen items which were stacked up in there. There wasn’t really any place to hide in the v-berth. Should she climb out of the hatch onto the deck, dive off the boat and swim to shore?

Tune in on Wednesday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – W is for Watch.

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See the pointy area? That's the v-berth on our old boat. It was too small for both Scott and me to sleep comfortably in, so he slept on the settee, while I shared the v-berth with the laundry and other bits and bobs. I bet you're loving the retro plaid cushion covers.

There are so many sailing words that don't make any sense at all and bear no resemblance to what they're describing, but v-berth is one of the exceptions. It's a berth (or a bed) in the shape of a V. So simple that even I understand it.

A lot of people happily use their v-berth as their main sleeping area, but, when we were shopping for our current boat, I had my heart set on a center cockpit and a spacious aft (rear) cabin. I love the fact that we don't feel the waves as much when sleeping in our aft cabin at anchor (of course our Moody 346 is a far heavier boat than our old Raven 26, which probably has something to do with it). But, what I love even more is how much easier it is to get in and out of bed and the small sitting area that the space affords. (You can see pictures of our boat here.)

The downside of our aft cabin is that you have to practically crawl through a low passageway between the galley and the engine room and go through a door better suited to a hobbit than a full-sized human. However, once you get inside, it's so cozy that you never want to leave. (You can read more about our ridiculously small doors here.) I think our aft cabin is my favorite room in our floating home.

What about you - what's your favorite room in your house (or boat or RV) and why?

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U Is For Underway | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.  

APOLOGIES - MY COMPUTER HAS STOPPED WORKING, so responding to comments here and leaving comments on all of your wonderful A to Z blogs is proving challenging, to say the least. And I haven't written my Z post yet - yikes! - so I'll have to try to do that on my phone this week, otherwise, you'll all worry about what happened to Nancy.

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When we last left you, Nancy had sneaked aboard Party Palace and was snooping around when she heard two men talking on the boat.

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While Nancy was looking around Party Palace, Ned heard someone scream and rushed over to see what happened.

“Are you all right?” Ned asked the young woman, who was lying down on the beach and clutching her ankle in pain. “I think I sprained my ankle. I was walking along the beach, when suddenly I tripped over some driftwood and fell down.” As she tried to get up, she moaned in pain.

“Here, let me help you,” said Ned as he gently grabbed her arm and helped her to her feet. “We better get you back to the marina so that someone can look at your ankle.”

“Thanks so much, that’s very kind of you,” she said as clutched Ned’s arm. Ned noticed the sprinkling of freckles across her nose as she looked up at him with big, blue eyes. “My name is Nellie. I’m here at the regatta with my uncle, Captain Gus, on his boat Xebec.”

“Captain Gus, the man who runs Xebec Charters?” Ned remembered Nancy telling him that she suspected Captain Gus of being the ringleader of the thefts at the marina. “I heard that he owns two other boats – Party Time and Party Palace. They both have a distinctive dolphin logo on their bows. Is that right?”

Nellie eyed Ned cautiously. “I don’t know anything about those other boats. Now, if you could just help me back to the marina.” Just as Ned was about to question Nellie more about her uncle, he heard the sound of an engine and saw Party Palace pull out of their slip.

“Hey, wait a minute,” he shouted. “My girlfriend is on that boat!”

While Ned stared helplessly at the boat getting underway, Nellie pushed him aside and ran up the beach and into the woods that covered the island. Ned watched in astonishment. Her ankle seemed fine. Had it all been a distraction to lure him away from the dock so that he wouldn’t notice anyone getting on board Party Palace?

Watching the boat make its way out into the bay and knowing that there wasn’t anything he could do to help Nancy from the dock, he rushed back to the barbeque to alert the others.

Tune in on Tuesday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – V is for V-Berth.

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Underway to Whangarei in New Zealand. I still remember how choppy the water was and what a struggle it was to get the mainsail down that day.

It's such a good feeling to get underway on a sailboat. It means you're going someplace. Whether out for a day sail, off to a new anchorage for the night or embarking on an overnight passage to someplace new and exciting.

Getting underway isn't a simple matter of hoisting the anchor and pointing the boat in the direction you want to go. An awful lot of planning and preparation is involved. For starters, you have to make sure everything is stowed away down below. Trust me, the last thing you want to hear as you're hoisting the mainsail is a crashing noise as your glass French press coffee maker tumbles off of the galley counter and onto the floor, leaving you with shards of glass everywhere and no way to make coffee the next morning.

Does it look like rain is on its way? Are you expecting to be crashing into heavy seas? Then, you need to make sure that the hatches are battened down and dogged, so that you don't get any salt water rushing down below all over your bedding. (I don't know where the term "dog the hatches" comes from, but it means to make sure the hatch is securely closed by turning the handles so that water can't seep in.)

Do you know where you're going? You need to make sure you've got your charts (paper and/or electronic) and guidebooks at the ready, you've planned your course (any reefs or shallow waters you need to avoid?) and you know what anchorages or hidey holes are along the way, in case you need to duck in due to weather or other issues.

And, of course, there's the weather. No one gets underway unless they've looked at the weather forecast. Mother Nature can be very unforgiving, so you need to know what you can expect before you head out. If it looks bad, sometimes the smart thing to do is not get underway at all.

But, probably the most important part of getting ready to get underway is making sure there are enough snacks and refreshments. Although, Bess isn't the best when it comes to sailing, I'm pretty sure this could be a strong suit of hers - ensuring the crew (and herself) is well fed.

What do you do to get ready for a trip? Are there any special preparations you make?

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T Is For Toe Rail | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.   

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When we last left you, Bess repaired the torn Q flag on Shelley's Sailrite sewing machine, while Nancy told George how critical it was that she find Captain Gus's list of stolen goods in order to crack the case.

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After quickly finishing their meal at the barbeque, Ned and Nancy walked along the beach towards the docks, where various sailboats were tied up in slips. They seemed like an ordinary young couple out for a pleasant stroll, but Nancy wasn’t any ordinary teenage girl. She was on the lookout for the boat she suspected was being used by the gang of thieves led by Captain Gus.

“Ned, isn’t that her over there?” Nancy pointed to the end of the dock where a white ketch with red racing stripes was moored. On the side of the boat, she could make out the name, Party Palace, underneath a distinctive dolphin logo.

“Yes, that’s her all right,” said Ned. “Let’s take a look.”

They approached the boat cautiously and called out, “Is anyone aboard?” When no one answered, Nancy peered in the port lights along the side of the boat. “There doesn’t appear to be anyone on board. Why don’t you stand watch and I’ll sneak aboard. We just have to find that list of stolen goods! It’s the proof we need to put an end to this dastardly racket.”

Ned walked down to the end of the dock to stand guard, while Nancy climbed over the lifelines and onto the deck. She peeked inside the cockpit and noticed that the washboards weren’t locked. Walking out to the bow of the boat, Nancy whispered loudly to Ned. “I’m going to go down below and see if I can find anything.” Ned nodded at Nancy and turned back around to keep lookout.

Nancy took out the washboards, climbed down the companionway and put the washboards back in place so that no one would know that someone was on board. As she looked around the spacious salon, she noticed dirty clothes, blankets and dishes scattered everywhere. Hmm, Nancy thought to herself, not only are they thieves, but they’re also slobs. Nancy thought to herself that Hannah Gruen, the Drew's housekeeper, would have a fit if she saw the state of this boat.

Nancy started poking around the salon, opening up cupboards and lifting up piles of clothes off of the settee. As she was starting to think that she wasn’t going to find anything, she heard two voices on deck.
“Ouch!” a man cried out. “I stubbed my toe on the toe rail.”

“Pipe down Pete,” another man said. “We don’t want anyone to hear us.”

Nancy froze. She wondered if Pete was the same man who was Captain Gus’s nephew and was selling stolen nautical equipment. And who was that other man? His voice sounded so familiar to Nancy, but she couldn’t quite place it.

Tune in on Monday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – U is for Underway.

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The toe rail on our boat is that piece of metal you see with the pieces of blue tape on it and holes cut along it. You can see where a stanchion is attached to the toe rail. That's the pointy thing sticking straight up, desperately in need of a good polish. The blue tape is to show the Travelift operators where to put the straps when they lift our boat out of the water so that they don't damage anything. Probably more than you wanted to know.

Boats are a minefield. So many sharp, pointy things sticking up all over the place just waiting for you to trip over them and stub your toe. Getting from the rear of the boat to the front of the boat is like running an obstacle course. You have to bend, duck, dive and do yoga moves to make your way. Sooner or later, the toe rail is going to do you in. It's called a toe rail for a reason. It's after your toes.

Of course, sensible people wear shoes. We're not sensible. Scott always sails barefoot and I sometimes do as well. Did you ever wonder why sailors curse so much? That's because they're constantly stubbing their toes. Did you ever wonder why sailors drink so much rum? That's because their toes hurt and it's the only way to numb the pain.

Why do toes hurt so much when you stub them? When's the last time you stubbed yours?

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S Is For Sailrite | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.   

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When we last left you, Nancy's beau, Ned Nickerson, surprised the girls, along with his friends Dave and Burt. Over chocolate cake and lemonade, Nancy told them about her plan to sneak aboard Party Time and look for clues.

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“Was that Ned we saw?” Shelley asked Nancy, as she and Marvin tied up their dinghy to the back of their boat.

“Yes, he’s crewing on one of the boats during the regatta, along with Burt and Dave, two of his friends from college.”

“Oh, that’s lovely, dear. He’s such a handsome young man. Did you offer them any cake and lemonade?”

“We sure did. They thought it was delicious and said to say thank you. We’re going to see them later at the barbeque.”

Bess muttered, “That’s not all we’re going to do at the barbeque. Tell them about your plan to sneak aboard Party Palace.” Nancy shushed Bess and turned to Shelley. “Bess was just asking if you have a sewing machine onboard. She was offering to repair your Q flag.”

“Of course, I have a heavy duty Sailrite. It’s wonderful for boat projects. Come on down below, Bess, and I’ll get it out for you.”

While Bess and Shelley worked on sewing the Q flag, George and Nancy talked about what clues might be aboard Party Palace. They agreed that if Nancy could find the list of what goods were stolen and how much they were sold for, they would have a solid case against Captain Gus and his gang.

“Look what a lovely job Bess did,” said Shelley as she held up the mended Q flag. Bess smiled. “It was nothing. Your sewing machine made it so easy. I’d love to have one just like it”

“Maybe you should learn to sail first, before you go buying a sewing machine for boat projects,” George said with a smirk on her face.

Before Bess could argue back, Marvin came out of the aft cabin, nodded appreciatively at the Q flag and said, “Right, we better get a move on. The barbeque is going to start soon.”

Distracted by thoughts of hamburgers and frankfurters hot off the grill, Bess hopped into the dinghy and thought to herself that maybe sailing wasn’t so bad after all. After all, there always seemed to be plenty of snacks and treats involved.

Tune in on Saturday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – T is for Toe Rail.

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Our trusty blue (and very expensive) Sailrite sewing machine. You can see the swatches that they send with your new machine to show that its been tested, adjusted properly and can sew through heavy material.

We've spent a fair chunk of change on things for our boat since we bought her last year and one of those things was a Sailrite sewing machine. It's an industrial machine, popular with boaters. I really debated whether to get one of these and would have long conversations with a friend of mine at the marina about the pros and cons of a Sailrite versus other sewing machines. In the end, I drank the koolaid and joined the Sailrite cult.

So far, I've made a few things for our boat and there are a few more things I need to make over the coming months. It's kind of fun to do some arts and crafts type of boat projects. Sure beats draining a fuel filter any day of the week.

When word gets out in a marina that you have a Sailrite sewing machine, you suddenly become very popular. I've had a few people borrow my machine for various projects. Because I'm a novice sewer, it's been really educational to pick their brains and see how they do their projects. Unlike with dressmaking where you can buy a pattern, most boat projects don't have patterns. Everything is one of a kind and you kind of have to figure it out as you go. One of my friends is making dinghy chaps (which are going to look amazing when they're done) and I've been watching her like a hawk to see how she does it so that I can make my own at some point. (Dinghy chaps are like cute outfits which you dress your dinghy up in to keep it from disintegrating due to the harsh sunlight.)

If you're interested in sewing machines, you can read my review of Sailrite and lookalike machines here. If you're not interested in sewing machines, you can read about the time I accidentally sent my friend porn about sewing machine here. Emphasis on the accidentally. And, don't worry, it's a G-rated post, despite the subject matter.

Do you sew? What types of things do you make and what kind of machine do you have? Have you ever accidentally sent someone an embarrassing email?

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R Is For Raft-Up | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end.   

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When we last left you, Nancy managed to restart the outboard motor and they made it back to the boat safely. Bess mistook a Q flag for a rag and started to worry about catching leprosy or tuberculosis while out sailing.

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The next day, while the girls were down below applying suntan lotion, they heard a knock on the hull. “Hello there, Scarlet Slipper. Permission to come aboard?”

Nancy poked her head up the companionway and saw three young dashing men in a dinghy. “Ned, What a pleasant surprise!” she exclaimed as she rushed up into the cockpit. “Bess, George, you’ll never guess who’s here. It’s Ned, along with Dave and Burt!”

“What are you three doing here?” asked Bess, as she smiled at Dave. “I thought you were busy studying for finals this weekend.”

“A friend of ours from Emerson College asked us if we wanted to crew with him during the regatta, so we thought we would take a break from studying and get a chance to see you girls as well,” said Dave as he looked at Bess with a cheeky grin. “We’re on The Ivory Charm, rafted up next to another friend’s boat, Fire Dragon.”

“Why don’t you boys come aboard and I’ll fix you a snack. Our hosts, Marvin and Shelley, are off visiting their friends just now, but I’m sure they won’t mind if I share some of Shelley’s delicious chocolate cake and lemonade with you,” said Nancy.

“I can vouch for the cake,” said Bess as she wiped some crumbs off of her blouse. “It is delicious!”

George looked at Bess in despair. “You’re not going to eat another slice, are you? You’ve already had two.” Bess ignored George and went down below to help Nancy with the refreshments.

After the boys had finished their cake and lemonade, Ned turned to Nancy. “Now, what kind of mischief have you girls been getting up to? Knowing you, I bet you’ve found another mystery to investigate.”

Nancy smiled and said, “We’re calling it The Case of the Missing Anchor. A bunch of stuff was stolen from boats at the marina and we’ve already uncovered several clues. First, there was the suspicious man on the white catamaran, Party Time. It looked like he had stolen nautical equipment in the back of his pickup truck.”

“Don’t forget to tell them about how he shoved you to the ground and almost rammed into us and another boat,” said George with a sparkle in her eyes.

“And, that’s not the worst of it. Captain Gus, the old salt who runs Xebec Charters, sabotaged our dinghy last night. We were almost lost at sea,” Bess added dramatically.

Dave looked at Bess with worry in his eyes as he put a protective arm around her shoulder. “Are you sure you girls should be pursuing this?”

“I wouldn’t worry about them,” said Ned. “Nancy always solves the case. She’s a crack investigator. So, what’s your next step in the investigation?”

“There’s a boat called Party Palace participating in the regatta. We think one of the guys onboard is in cahoots with Captain Gus. I’m going to sneak aboard while everyone is occupied with the barbeque tonight and see if I can find any more clues!”

Tune in on Friday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – S is for Sailrite.

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Boats rafted up in Madeira. One of the lovely places where Scott has been sailing without me.

Do you remember when you were a kid and you would go to sleepovers? A bunch of kids in their sleeping bags crammed into one room, staying up all night telling ghost stories and braiding each other's hair. Raft-ups are kind of like that. You get a few boats and tie them up alongside each other. Then you have a giant party, braid each other's hair, drink some beer, swap sailing stories and tell each other lies.

Sometimes, people have to raft-up with strangers, like at Vero Beach in southern Florida which often has more boats than available mooring balls. You might leave for the day in your dinghy, only to come back at night and find a strange boat rafted-up alongside yours. It might seem odd to braid a stranger's hair, but if you get enough beers in you (hopefully some nice craft IPAs that your boat neighbor provided), then it might seem like a good idea. Beer does that. Turns stupid ideas into good ones. Not that I know anything about that. Really, I don't.

Of course, Nancy's boyfriend, Ned, and his pals from college would never dream of drinking beer on the boats they have rafted up together. These are wholesome, young lads. Nothing naughty ever happens in a Nancy Drew book. Maybe that's why she's able to crack so many mysteries. She isn't easily distracted by beer or college boys.

Did you go on sleepovers as a kid? What kinds of things did you get up to?

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Q Is For Q Flag | Nancy Drew Investigates {A To Z Challenge}

During April, we're participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. Every day (except Sundays), we'll be doing an alphabet themed post starting with "A is for Anchor" and ending with "Z is for Zodiac." Each post is an installment of "Nancy Drew Investigates the Case of the Missing Anchor" - so you may want to read the posts from the beginning, in order to follow along with the story (click here for the first post and here for an index of all the posts). At the end of each post, you'll also find some random thoughts on the day's particular topic. So, if Nancy isn't your thing, feel free to skip the story and go straight to the end. 

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When we last left you, someone had sabotaged the dinghy by stealing the oars and siphoning off most of the gas. The girls were in danger of drifting out into the bay, but, fortunately, there was an extra gas tank in the back of the dinghy.

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Nancy started up the outboard engine. “There, everything is working now. Let’s head back to the boat.” After expertly guiding the dinghy alongside of The Scarlet Slipper’s swim platform and tying it off, Nancy turned to Bess and said, “Can you hand me one of those rags over there. I’m afraid I got a little grimy switching out the gas tanks.”

“Here you go,” said Bess as she handed a yellow rag to Nancy. “Wait a minute Bess. That’s not a rag, that a Q flag. I wonder what that’s doing here. Can you have another look? There should be a rag should be around here somewhere.”

Bess poked around in the canvas bag sitting on the floor of the dinghy and said, “Here, I think I’ve found one.”

While Nancy wiped off her hands, Bess looked at the yellow nylon flag in her hand and asked, “What’s this for anyway?”

“When you sail into another country, you have to fly the Q flag until you’ve officially cleared customs and immigration. The Q stands for quarantine,” Nancy replied as she climbed out of the dinghy and onto the swim platform.

“Quarantine? Isn’t that what you do to people who have leprosy or tuberculosis? I didn’t realize you could pick up such horrible diseases when you’re sailing,” Bess said in shock. “The more I learn about sailing, the more risky it seems.”

“Come on Bess, get out of the dinghy,” said George as she pushed her up onto the swim platform. “I really don’t know where you get these silly ideas from. Of course you’re not going to catch leprosy or tuberculosis when you’re out sailing. They just call it a Q flag because that’s how it was used historically.”

“George is right,” said Nancy as they all sat down in the cockpit. “The Q actually stands for Quebec, which is one of the maritime signal flags. But, in the old days, people would fly a yellow flag to show that there was a communicable disease on board. Nowadays, it means the opposite, that the boat is disease free and waiting to clear in.”

“Hmm,” said Bess dubiously as she looked at the flag. “I think I’d rather fly down to the islands then sail there. It sounds much safer and far less complicated.” Bess got up and started down the companionway. “Is anyone else hungry? I wonder if there are any cinnamon rolls leftover from this morning.”

As Bess climbed down the ladder with one hand, holding on to the Q flag with the other, she stumbled and fell down into the salon. “Oh no, I think I just ripped the Q flag on this hook. What will Marvin and Shelley say?”

Tune in on Thursday for the next installment of Nancy Drew Investigates – R is for Raft-up.

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Our Q flag, flapping in the breeze in the Bahamas. It really is just a boring yellow flag. I can see how Bess mistook it for a rag.

I had never crossed into another country by sailboat until we went to the Bahamas, so using a Q flag was new to me. I think it was new to Scott too, as he has only sailed in New Zealand and within the European Union. The previous owners of our boat left behind a box of courtesy flags, as well as our lovely Q flag. It was so much fun to look through them and see all the exciting countries we can sail to without shelling out a penny for our own courtesy flags - like Cuba, the British Virgin Islands, Grenada etc.

When you first arrive in the waters of a new country, you fly your Q flag until you clear in. After that, you replace your Q flag with a small courtesy flag of your host country. It's a much more fun way of entering a country than flying in and standing for hours in a line at the airport for customs and immigration. Those places are so serious. Life is so much better on a boat!

Have you ever traveled internationally? What was the best and worst customs and immigration experience you've ever had?

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