It all started with a little congestion in my ear. I first noticed it while snorkeling off Rasfari Island with our friends on Slow Flight. We were looking for the manta ray cleaning station that was supposedly in this area. I didn’t feel the pain until I tried to dive down and discovered my ear…
The Maldives may be known for its beautiful water and luxury resorts, but there are still pockets of important Maldivian culture to be found if you know where to look. We found one of these on Thulhaadhoo Island, a small part of the Baa Atoll in the northwest Maldives. Trade with mainland Asia, and China specifically,…
A small atoll in the Maldives named Dholhiyadhoo was set to be the home of a new, luxury resort in the Maldives from the same company that built the Zitahli Kuda-Funafaru Maldives. The project was slated to be finished with a grand opening in 2011. However, someone defaulted on the loan, and this year the property was finally…
Most of the tourism in the Maldives is all-inclusive resorts or liveaboard dive boats. There are definitely some benefits of the tourism industry here, such as the government requiring resorts to employ a certain percentage of locals or the tourism industry boosting the economy. The Maldives went from being one of the twenty poorest countries…
Exercise has always been a part of our lives so it would make sense that we would exercise onboard Starry Horizons. However, it’s taken over four years to develop some good habits and settle into an exercise routine. Before Cruising Back in land life, David and I both had gym memberships to our fabulous neighborhood…
Our AIS (Automatic Identification System) is one of our favorite electronics on the boat. It helps us make better navigational decisions, especially in high traffic areas or ship channels. However, while cruising through South East Asia, we encountered a lot of fishing boats that did not have AIS onboard. That’s when the MARPA feature on…
Rain and fog greatly reduce visibility and increase the risk of a collision while boating. Thankfully, your radar has built-in features you can use to “see” through the rain better and avoid a deadly mistake. While sailing around in the Maldives, we were near our friends Slow Flight and approaching a pass into the North…
We frequently get asked about how insurance works out here. How do we insure our boat? What restrictions do you have on your boat insurance? My boat insurance policy is going up 200%, help me! When we moved aboard Starry Horizons, we wanted to sail the boat across the Atlantic with just the two of…