While some of you are busy dreaming of beachy getaways and sun-kissed tans, I’m over here cozying up in my favorite sweater, sipping hot cocoa, and planning my next snowy…
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POSTS ABOUT MISCELLANEOUS STUFF
We started the cruising season in the Rio Dulce, Guatemala. While we really liked cruising the river and the community that is there, we were not impressed with the may…
It’s no question: biking is booming. From the increase of bike sharing programs in urban areas to the rising popularity of biking during the pandemic, people are two-wheeling more than…
Over the last couple years I have enjoyed watching car shows and have gotten more and more interested in older cars. Don’t get me wrong, I do not need a…
I found these street decorations for Halloween in Loveland, Colorado when I was visiting some friends. I think this bar hit it out of the park. What do you think?
I mean how many families would get a three generation photo with their parent’s unused (as of yet, knock on wood) tombstone? The saddest part is that as soon as…
Whenever I visit my mom & dad one of the very first questions I ask is “where is the list of projects you want me to do while I am…
I have spent the last month visiting friends and family in Florida, Tennessee, and Texas and am now driving up to Missouri with my parents to spend a month out…
I do love when I find sea glass and pottery, which comes from broken glass and pottery being rubbed against rocks and sand until the jagged edges are rounded and…
I have loved being “stuck” here in St Lucia during these troubling times because I have been able to hang out with 8-10 boats for a few months now. During…
When I was in Soufrière, St Lucia last week I went snorkeling with another boat over at the Bat Cave, which is a slit in the cliff with a bat…
I want to give a special thank you to all the US Navy and Coast Guard sailors (and all military for that matter) for protecting my right and ability to…
Many of my friends and family have wondered how I am doing given that I am alone aboard Guiding Light, a Lagoon 410, during this month plus long quarantine we…
In order to complete my customs and immigration check in at Tobago Island I had to pay a fee, but in order to do that you need local currency. With…
You may be wondering why I am writing about the moon on a travel and cruising website. Well the answer is two part. First, today marks the 50th anniversary of…
Sometimes my friends like to take me tubing when we are both sitting in Christmas Cove. I think it is a blast and a fun way to get some excercise….
[Shane – The following article was written on Jul 23, 2018 by Mark Shiffer for Vintage News and can be found in the original story at https://www.thevintagenews.com/2018/07/23/pirate-outposts/] From the 17th to the 19th centuries,…
I decided today I was going to write about my typical day when I am not on charter. How I get up, have breakfast, stretch, write, work on boat projects,…
I recently finished running six week long charters with 24 hour turns between them. As you can imagine this left me very little time to do much else, so the…
What is skurfing? Haha. Good question. It is when you take a surfboard of paddle board and get towed behind a dinghy as if you were skiing. Thus the name…
I have been working really hard on a personal project that many of my guest have asked me to do. I am not ready to announce what it is just…
Shane – I found these maps showing the travel time from London to different parts of the world during 1914 and 2016. I think it is fascinating how long it…
How true is the saying that doubt kill more dreams than failure ever will? Have you ever let doubt kill a dream of yours? Big or small? I know I…
[Shane – Earlier this week I wrote a blog about tubing and two of the photos of the day were of me tubing. Well today I wanted to share a…
I know many of you consider me to be living the dream and just relaxing down here in paradise. I do feel quite blessed with the path my life has…
[Shane – On my last charter I had a guest that was really worried about a shark attack, so today I thought I would share an article I found on goseewrite.com that…
After seven years of living and working in the Caribbean has shown me that we have amazing sunsets down here. It is as if God pulls out a different color…
Yesterday I post a travel video for Iceland’s Ring Road which has a great location for a sunset behind a waterfall and that has started our “Week of Sunsets”. Today’s…
As many of you know I am all for reducing the amount of plastic we use. Below is a great article explaining ways we can all help. It was written…
The other day a friend of mine stopped by after he went diving for lobsters and dropped off two tails and a live lobster. It was unexpected and extremely nice…
Mark Twain was a traveler and once said “travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome,…
by Matt Rosenberg Updated September 08, 2017 The Seven Wonders of the World has historically been a listing of seven sites known to the Ancient Greeks as the most notable locales…
Remora are a type of sucker fish that can grow up to two and a half feet long. They have a distinct oval disk used to suck to sharks, whales,…
A tourist doesn’t mind being called a tourist. A traveller does, very much. A tourist wants to see all the sights. A traveller wants to see some, but also to find something interesting that isn’t in the guidebook….
I was in the grocery store and I saw some “free range”, “organic”, “non-GMO” eggs and I was amazed. Not because they were such the perfect eggs for someone that…
As most of you know, I have been in the #chartering business in the beautiful #Caribbean Sea for 7 years now. My boat #GuidingLight and I enjoy chartering mostly #USVirginIslands…
As we are entering a new year, we wanted to look back on our year which included alot of travelling! We started by visiting some islands around the Carribbean starting…
After I travel to a country or to an island I prepare for you all a travel guide that gives you the tips for the best trip. Each guide is…
As all you know we had a big tour around Western Europe this summer starting from Turkey. I thought I would give you some short suggestions for those that…
In a world full of pigeons be a parrot!!!!! Just a little advise for your weekend! Enjoy!
I recently sent out a Guiding Light Newsletter and I recieved the following e-mail shortly after: Shane, Good to see your success over the years, living life! I have been…
My third to last charter this season brought a wonderful family aboard that said they love board games. I was all kinds of excited and told them that I have…
But today’s photo of the day is me showing off the Guiding Light. I get lots of photos of guest jumping from the boat, but rarely is one taken of…
As I was taking some guest to Jost Van Dyke we saw the Stad Amsterdam anchored at the entrance and we all grabbed our cameras. This is a new tall…
Have you ever watched someone jump from a 45 foot cliff? How about witness firefighters going into a burning building? Read about a couple sailing across an ocean? When you…
What do you think of him? My niece in Colorado drew him and I just love it. I think she is SO talented and I hope she continues to practice…
A couple of months ago I flew to Istanbul, Turkey for a week-long trip and I found out my friends living in Kyrgyzstan were flying home to America for the holidays….
During one of my recent charters a guest brought a shell back from his snorkle at Cooper Island. He asked if he was allowed to keep it to which I…
Every year I fly a different pirate flag from my mast (the USA flag flies on the topping lift in the back of the boat over the cockpit) and last…
This is a modified version of the traditional Christmas poem that I wrote several years ago and wanted to re-share with you and to tell each and everyone of my…
To all my American readers I hope you have a joyful day of thanks today (and of course good football too, haha). Sometimes it is so easy to see others…
I am not that much of a baseball or a Chicago fan, but I do like history. A couple nights ago a friend pointed out that the last time the…
Some of you may be wondering how I packed for a two month long trip when almost half of it will be in a hot desert area and the other…
As a US Coast Guard licenced captain I have to be randomly drug tested, if you have taken drugs but need to pass the test then I recommend you to…
Here it is in the morning and I still have things to do. Do I have a deadline to get them done by? You bet I do since I I…
As many of you know my birthday was two days ago. Thanks to social media I received close to a 100 messages on my Facebook time line, over 10 private…
One thing I enjoy is adventure (by this I mean fun not stupid) activities. Be it snorkeling, playing in the surf, jumping off cliffs, ect, ect, ect. I have had…
This is a game my friend and former boss like to play as he sees my blogs and post from all over the globe (I have to admit I have…
Ok, so those of you that know me take the above statement for the sarcasm that it is. Those that don’t know me have to understand my sense of humor…
This blog is going to a reminiscent of a great night a couple weeks ago more than informative, but I hope you enjoy it none the less. I had two…
Last week we were the second day of charter and had just pulled into Cooper Island when my guest, James, saw a Sunsail boat names Triple D. On the boat…
So every now and then I start to tell my guest a story about a place that we are at and they will interrupt me by saying “is this the…
Ok not really, but I have a nice story to tell you. The other week I had the boat moored on the west side of Little St James Island (Christmas…
Do you see a pattern with the above quotes? It is the absence of action because one is scared of what they have not experienced. As I tell my sailing…
Does the thought of palm tree fringed beaches make your toes curl as you think about having them buried in the sand? How about the excitement of snorkeling colorful reefs…
Just kidding! Up in the North Sound of Virgin Gorda in the BVI there is a lady who goes from boat to boat each morning in her dinghy selling jewelry….
The first time I visited St Croix in 2013 I got a tan t-shirt with a pirate skeleton laying in a hammock. The tag line was “A pirate’s weekend is…
I do not own a lot of stuff. A side from boat equipment and kitchen utensils I probable have 15 t-shirts, 15 shorts, 4 pairs of footwear (I have no…
Do you see a pattern with the above quotes? It is the absence of action because one is scared of what they have not experienced. As I tell my…
I was going to write a blog about my boat being my home, but after the excitement of Sunday night I have an urge to share my happiness that the…
When I check my mailbox last week I was pleasantly surprised, because I had a package from some very close friends in Colorado. I have no idea where they found…
How hard do you think it would be to organize nine squares with tops and/or bottoms of four lighthouses? The answer is WAY harder than you think, because they give…
I am honestly asking, because I always heard that if it could be put on another vessel then it was a boat and if it was too big then it…
A couple weeks ago I headed to St Thomas from Culebra because I had a good weather window and a slight possibility for a last minute charter, which did not…
For most people this time of year the word reindeer brings an image like this: But after my trip to the northern part of Norway where they hunt, bred, and…
But what do you do to keep it cold? For the last several years I had a collection of coozies available for guest to slip their cans into. I even…
Is there anything better than when friends become like family? I think not and I was lucky enough to spend the entire month of October in Colorado seeing friends…
This year I have set foot four different continents and seen several things that I have never heard of before, but it was not until I made it to Missouri…
I love playing board games and even more love introducing my guest to great games they have never heard of. With that said I have two new games to teach…
I feel very fortunate that 95% of the guest aboard the Guiding Light embrace the idea of no disposable water bottles. Instead they use the reusable bottles I give them…
As many of you know, or can deduce from the boat name, I am a Christian. I am not one to write about my faith very often (I prefer to…
When I visit Dallas there are two places I want to make sure I eat before I leave. The first is El Fenix, which was one of the very first…
In Charlotte Amalie harbor in St Thomas, USVI there are lots of boats anchored or moored. Most of these boats are either crusiers passing through, the day boat fleet, or…
A couple months ago I was sleepy when something hit my boat. Turns out another boat drug anchor and was sitting right on top of me. As I walk to…
I was at Culebrita last month on a Saturday and there were a lot of boats (in fact we figured at least $100 million dollars in the bay). I happened…
I wrote the following song for the sailing community (well I might have had a little help from Kenny Chesney 🙂 haha). Sailin’ these waters in the hot summer sun…
Sometimes you need to step back and have someone else look at a project to give you a fresh perspective and another way to look at a problem. This was…
One time I was snorkeling and one of my guest pointed to the ocean floor 25 below us and said it looked like a coffin was sitting there. I immediately swam…
As you read this I will be toward the beginning of three and a half week trip to Kyrgyzstan in central Asia and Norway in northern Europe, and of…
People ask me all the time how long I will be doing “this” and I have to tell them I don’t know. I mean I thought I was going to…
Several weeks ago when I had the 20 year old boys helping me out sailing the boat we had a boat follow us into the shallow entrance of the North…
You know what I hate? I hate stuff on Facebook that has a title like “He did blah blah and you will never guess what happened” or “I am going…
Due to Google changing their search engine requirements and making websites that are mobile device friendly have a higher rating than other websites, I had my website completely redone. I…
My cousin and her husband are with me this week to celebrate my 43rd birthday. On top of taking me out to dinner they also brought a present with spices,…
What do you think of the shirt I got from Tee Spring. I saw it on an ad on Facebook of all places and knew I had to have one.
I want to share something cool with you. When I got to Yacht Haven Grande in Charlotte Amalie harbor on St Thomas after my last charter, I fould there are…
The story I heard about this house is that it was built by a famous New York architect and has been highly praised by many publications. They have hired house…
The other week I pulled into The Bight at Norman Island and found a 25 foot speed boat upside down and mostly underwater on the western end. Of course you…
This particular post is mostly for one person and I am sure you can guess who that is. I mean how could I not be proud to have Dee as…
Last week my guest and I were sailing out of Cane Garden Bay on the north side of Tortola. In order to get out of the harbor you have to…
If you want a fun seafaring story, then you should consider The Boat Who Wouldn’t Float. The story is about the author who is fed up with life and decides…
Last week I was at Salt Pond Bay on the south side of St John paddle boarding with one of my guest. As I was near shore just gliding along…
I had a young guest aboard who was reading one of the books from the “Life As We Knew It” series written by Susan Beth Pfeffer. She started telling me…
Check out the awesome shirt my guest just gave to me. Not only is it a quick dry swim shirt, but it is a custom shirt with my logo on…
After four years I had to get a new phone, since my old one could not tell if it was plugged in or not and would beep all the time….
I just got two inflatable SUPs aboard the Guiding Light. Now my guest are able to try out paddle boarding. The best part is if they want they can…
“You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it.” Adrian Rogers, 1931 “It has been my observation that people are just about as happy as they make up their minds to be.”…
I’d rather be the ship that sails and rides the billows wild and free Than to be the ship that always fails to leave its port and go to sea,…
What do you think of these socks a friend of mine found? Are they not the coolest?
I am thinking of upgrading to this boat. What do you think? haha In reality it is a 150 foot schooner used as a small sailing cruise ship. I think…
…sailing with the wind in your hair. …the warm Caribbean sun warming your face. …taking pity on those up north going through their umpteenth winter storm. …floating in water so…
If everybody had a boat Across the U. S. A. Then everybody’d be sailin’ Like the Caribbean You’d seem ’em wearing their glasses Sundowners in hand the wind blowing through…
When I had to bring the anchor up by hand, which you read about two days ago, I strained my back. The problem was that I had two more days…
I hope each of you had a wonderful Old Year’s night and celebrated well. I spent my in Trellis Bay, BVI with a fantastic family from Norway, but you will…
Are you a giver? Most of my life I have given my time to different causes and organizations from the Boy Scouts, American Cancer Society, and of course the Golden…
I just got the newest issue of All At Sea and found an article about chartering in the USVI that used my photos. In fact four of the six photos…
I hope everyone is having a wonderful Thanksgiving….at least my American readers. To my Canadian readers I apologize for being a month or so later with my Thanksgiving wish to…
I am proud to present a completely new look for svGuidingLight.com, which was built by Great Circle Studios. I built the old site from a WordPress theme I was able…
When I was growing up I took a typing class in jr high and I was taught to use two spaces after a period. Well I was never great at…
I hope each of you had a wonderful Christmas. My fantastic guest brought a whole stocking full of stuff for me, which I will share with you in time. But…
For the 18 years I lived in Colorado there is one Texas delicacy that was not available (just my luck they started shipping it since I left)! Even though Colorado…
Twas the month before Christmas, when all thro’ the boat Not a creature was stirring, cause we have no goat; The stockings were hung on a palm tree with care,…