Welcome Aboard!

The misadventures of a menopausal mariner, her man and her mutt.

About me

I am 53 years old and grew up between the UK in Pulborough and Emsworth and the US in upstate New York due to my Dad’s work.

I have sailed for as long as I can remember and did some yacht deliveries as a late teen, and the love for sailing has never left me.

I became a nursing auxiliary aged 16 and started my nurse training in Bath aged 18. After qualifying I specialised in Clinical Research and moved to Africa. On returning to the UK I joined the Royal Navy and shortly after completing basic training was drafted to Gibraltar where I met my husband Lee. I stayed in the Navy for many years and specialised in polytrauma within operating theatres, completing numerous tours of Iraq and Afghanistan. After a serious back injury caused my medical retirement from the Navy I then went on to train in nurse prescribing and aesthetics.

We have now lived onboard full time for 7 years and still loving it. Mostly…!

I still have my amazing Mum Val, aged 85 and who we own a house 8 doors away from. I lost my beloved Dad Jim a few years ago. I have a big brother called Phil, my sister in law Roo, nephews Sam and Jake, my amazing step son Jack AKA The Cub, and obviously there is Lee and Franco.

About Lee

I am 53 years old and grew up between Plymouth in Devon and South Shields in Tyneside. Unlike Sam, I was not brought up sailing and only started about 12 years ago when we had our first boat. I enjoyed it immediately and therefore thought it was time to swap my previous expensive hobby of fast cars for a more sedate yet equally expensive hobby.

I retired 7 years ago after 28 years working for the UK Government and am loving the sailing life we now have. There are also some downsides, but nowhere near enough to regret this decision. I am now a qualified Yacht Master Ocean and am working part time for the UK military sailing academy whilst travelling around the world on our own boat.

About Franco

Franco is a 10 (ish) year old mini Belgian Malinois we adopted in Colombia after being found nearly dead in the street at a few weeks old. As I did fundraising for animal shelters there, we were asked if we could home him over the weekend, but once a dog crosses our threshold, unless he belongs to someone else they don’t leave! After many weeks being very touch and go, he pulled through and he obviously came home with us. He is not very user friendly, not bothered about cuddles, people or food. Only seems to want to charge around and play and has massive ears. Everyone loves him but he expresses disdain for everyone he meets. He sleeps on the bed (or the family basket as we call it) and our world revolves around him. As do our sailing plans! He is also known as Sausage. An incredibly well travelled little guy, he is the ultimate Boat Dog.

Welcome to The Menopausal Mariner

The sailing adventures of a grumpy, middle aged woman, her longsuffering husband and disinterested dog.

Welcome Aboard!