Wilderness

One of the things I love about Los Angeles is how close everything is. Within 5 ours of my house we have skiing, white water rafting, deserts, mountains (including the highest mountain in the continental US), ocean, lake, hot springs and goodness knows what else. Around LA alone there’s over 4,000,000 acres of hikeable wilderness, which gives me a lot of choice when it comes... Read More

Lonely tower cove

I do not sleep well at anchor. En route to Alicante, we sailed into a little cove- a magic cove really- that Jam has named “cala de torre solamente” (lonely tower cove). He spotted it from a mile out, and insisted we sail in to explore it. Some people would call it luck, but I say it takes great talent to pick out the perfect spot from a mile away. A turquoise-bottomed cove,... Read More

Tortilla Espanola

I forgot about how nice some things are at home. Like clean sheets and a comfy bed that is so big you can stretch out in your sleep and still not know there’s someone else there. And like having a bathroom that you don’t share with a hundred other people in the marina. And good coffee. Jamie and I jumped ship in Alicante. Gatablanca and I had a tearful goodbye. That... Read More

Blue water

When I was young I’d draw like a madwoman. My favourite thing to draw was the sea with a full moon, and that nice triangle of light shimmering its way down the page. It was, to me, the most beautiful thing ever. On board my dad’s old boat, Easy Action, when I was 3 or so, he’d often come and retrieve me late at night, slip a life jacket over my head and lift me out of the... Read More

The good ship.

As I write this, big fluffy cumulus clouds are forming on the horizon, and my brother, Alex, is checking the weather reports to make sure we won’t run into a storm later this afternoon. We’re in Spain. Torrevieja, to be exact: a small resort town on the East coast. We’re on a boat. Gatablanca, to be exact: a beautiful white catamaran with a blue stripe down the... Read More