This 24-7 live-aboard sailor writes for anyone who's ever wanted to go to another place on a boat. No matter whether you're a weekend or vacation boater, a full-time cruiser, a sailor or a powerboater, Tom -- with his wit and Southern charm -- has advice and first-hand experience to share.

Latest Log: Killing Waters - We headed out Government Cut, bound for the Bahamas. This was yet another time when my stubbornness overcame good sense. It was rough. Not dangerous, but I should have known it would not be fun. Our daughters, Melanie and Carolyn, still asleep up forward in their stateroom, found out quickly how rough it was when a wave swept over the bow and flooded down the slight crack we’d left for ventilation in the forward hatch. It wasn’t a good way to wake up. As soon as we cleared the inlet and got into deep open water, we turned around and went back into our anchorage. The next day the seas were down and we made it to the Bahamas, “No Problem, Mon.”

At 21, she was the youngest woman to sail around the world alone, and a best-selling author. Now, 20 years later, she's decided to take her two teenage boys cruising to the South Pacific. Join the voyage.

Latest Log: The Road to Ringaroa - I haven’t paid such close attention to the weather since fall of 2001. In July of that year, the boys and I had our last big adventure before this one, an 8,000-mile cross-country camping trip. In August, I led a 10-day charter in the Leeward Islands of French Polynesia, the second and last time I was here before now.

They’ve been out cruising for two decades, working along the way, and seeing where the cruising life takes them. Join the 51-foot sailboat Feel Free for an adventure that has become a rich and rewarding life for this resourceful couple.

Latest Log: A Greek Odyssey – Our Journey to Ithaca The Odyssey, written by Homer around 1000 B.C., describes the Greek warrior Odysseus’ long journey home to Ithaca after his attack on Troy on the west coast of present-day Turkey. It wasn’t a cheery journey; in fact, it was about delays and obstructions and messy deaths. The captain disliked the grey sea and fickle winds, the toil of shipboard life, the distances, the inconveniences, the dangers. The crew was complaining and fearful.

In 2005 Jim and Lisa Favors retired, sold their house in Traverse City, Michigan, and set out for a 10-month, 6,000-mile Great American Loop adventure aboard their new Fathom 40. They explored the American river system, ICW, lakes, and the Abacos. Jim and Lisa decided to head out again, but this time they will be “Loopers” for two years, and have a boat built for the purpose. Join the Favors on Kismet, as they depart their homeport of Charlevoix, Michigan, for a two-year Loop adventure on their new boat- a journey into the American heartland.

Latest Log: The Second Time Around “So much to see and so little time!” “You have to stop and smell the roses!” These old chestnuts are all just words we’ve all heard a million times before. However, they begin to take on more significance at a certain point in our lives. Suddenly, we start asking ourselves what are we put on this earth to do. Certainly, for Lisa and me anyway, it’s not to work nine-to-five forever and amass great fortunes. We feel very lucky that one of the things we’ve decided to do is retire early, with what we have, and plan our second American Great Loop adventure. And this time around, we’re going to take our time and smell all those roses everyone keeps talking about.

Cruising kids from near and far, and of different ages, tell their stories. Find out from them firsthand what it's like to live aboard, where they went, and what they liked best about the whole experience.

Latest Log: My Two-Year Caribbean Adventure - By Olivia Collins
Waves rustle against the hull of Zora. A seagull shrieks to the rising sun as I open my hatch. Beyond the deck, a white-sand beach stretches off into the distance. Light dances in the turquoise waves. Later in the day, I might go for a snorkel or collect shells in that pristine sand. No, it isn’t a happy dream. It was my life for two years.