...but I believe what was at play aboard that boat was far more than a series of "moments"... (grin)

Reading Charlotte's blog entry on her "Reflections on our first year of cruising", what's most striking to me is that there is virtually no mention or reference whatsoever to SAILING... It's all about the cultural experience of being in Mexico, friends they made in marinas, blah, blah... As best I can tell, she had no more than a few overnights under sail - 2 crossings from Baha to the mainland in ideal conditions - under her belt, before they set out on their first offshore passage as a family... She flatly states she HATES sailing when she doesn't feel well, and she was pretty much seasick from the get-go on this passage... Again, reading Eric's and Charlotte's companion blogs from the passage, it's almost hard to picture they were on the same boat...

As I've said elsewhere, another classic example of mistakes and poor choices made before the boat ever left the dock...