It's Irie: Liesbet's Published Work

Liesbet's Published Work

Christmas Disaster in Puerto Rico - A Story of Love and Heartbreak in Women Who Sail Newsletter (December 2020): https://www.womenwhosail.com/blog/2020/12/15/christmas-disaster-in-puerto-rico

Do Sharks Fear Purple Bandanna's? in SisterShip Magazine (November 2020): https://issuu.com/sistershipmagazine/docs/ss_nov_2020/s/11399918

Blame the Dogs, a story about heartbreak for the anthology Heartwreck by Unruly Voices (scheduled for publication in 2021)

The Lure of a New Sailing Adventure in Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book 2021

The Art of Becoming Fishermen in Ocean Navigator (March/April 2020): http://www.oceannavigator.com/March-April-2020/The-art-of-becoming-fishermen/

Up Close and Personal with the Intracoastal Waterway in Eldridge Tide and Pilot Book 2020

Milk Run Deviation – A Challenging Passage to French Polynesia in Ocean Navigator (May/June 2019): http://www.oceannavigator.com/May-June-2019/Milk-Run-deviation

Losing Our Hearts in Annapolis in SpinSheet Magazine (October 2017)

The Spell of Maupiti in Cruising World (June 2017): https://www.cruisingworld.com/spell-maupiti

Ten Qualities of a Long-term Cruiser in Blue Water Sailing (April 2017): https://www.bwsailing.com/ten-qualities-of-a-long-term-cruiser/

Top Ten Reasons to Cruise in the Caribbean in All At Sea (November 2016): https://www.allatsea.net/top-ten-reasons-cruise-caribbean/

The Gambier Islands – A Fascinating Corner of the South Pacific in Multihull Sailor (Summer 2016): http://pdfmag.org/84213-multihull-sailor-summer-2016/

Caribbean Christmas Afloat – Unforgettable and Unique in All At Sea (December 2015): http://www.allatsea.net/caribbean-christmas-afloat-unforgettable-and-unique/

Stille Zuidzee saga – Een serene stunt of een satanische strijd? in Zeilen (October 2015): https://www.zeilen.nl/nieuws/zeilen-10-2015

He Sailed His Beach Cat Where? in Cruising World (January 2015)

Op zeilavontuur in Kuna Yala – Exotisch en uniek in Varen (November/December 2014)

Solo Sailor to Rebuild His Wrecked Yacht in Yachting World (November 2014)

Saltwater Nomad in Sailing Today (November 2014): https://www.sailingtoday.co.uk/news/november-issue-sailing-today

A High-speed Encounter at Sea with a Lone Adventurer in Multihull Sailor (September 2014): https://www.sailmagazine.com/multihulls/yvan-bourgnon-solo-sailing-a-catamaran-around-the-world {Follow-up story by editor Peter Nielsen in Sail (July 2015): http://www.sailmagazine.com/multihulls/yvan-bourgnon-completes-beach-cat-journey-around-the-world/}

Interview met Yvan Bourgnon: Zeiler Yvan Bourgnon over halfweg rond de wereld en… in Zeilen (September 2014)

The East Lemmon Cays in Kuna Yala in All At Sea (October 2014): https://www.allatsea.net/east-lemmon-cays-kuna-yala/

The Gambier Islands – Gem of an Archipelago in the South Pacific in Sailing Today (July 2014)

French Racer’s Round the World Cruise in Yachting World (July 2014)

Top Ten Anchorages in the Caribbean in All At Sea (May 2014): http://www.allatsea.net/top-ten-most-scenic-anchorages-in-the-caribbean/

Top Ten Favorite Caribbean Islands in Islands (January 2014): https://www.islands.com/top-10-favorite-caribbean-islands/

Visiting Bonaire Beyond the Bubbles in All at Sea (February 2014): https://www.allatsea.net/visiting-bonaire-beyond-the-bubbles/

Why We Miss the (Eastern) Caribbean in Caribbean Compass (December 2013): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

La Blanquilla – A Venezuelan Stop-over on the Track, but off the Beaten Path in Blue Water Sailing (October 2013)

There Is a Boat in My Yard! – Haul-out Experiences while Cruising in All At Sea (September 2013): https://www.allatsea.net/theres-a-boat-in-my-yard/

Catamaran or Monohull? in All At Sea (April 2013; Pages 46-48): https://www.allatsea.net/catamaran-or-monohull/

Through the Panama Canal – The Easy Way to Switch Oceans in Caribbean Compass (March 2013): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

Santa Marta – A Pleasant Colombian Surprise! in All At Sea (June 2014): https://www.allatsea.net/santa-marta-colombia-a-pleasant-surprise/

Ten Tips for Cruisers in the San Blas Islands in All At Sea (February 2013): https://www.allatsea.net/ten-tips-for-cruisers-in-the-san-blas-islands/

What’s on Your Mind: Mutual Respect and Consideration in Caribbean Compass (January 2013): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

Why Do We Cruise? in All At Sea (December 2012): https://www.allatsea.net/why-do-we-cruise/

Bonaire – Pocket-Sized Beauty and Diversity in Multihulls Quarterly (November/December 2012)

Ten Realities about the San Blas Islands – Know before You Go! in Caribbean Compass (June 2012; Pages 18-19): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

Tips and Costs for Transiting the Panama Canal in All At Sea (May 2012)

Nimrod’s Hospitality Shop in Grenada in Caribbean Compass (February 2012; Pages 40-41): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

Los Roques – Do They Rock or Not? in Caribbean Compass (January 2012; Pages 21-23): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

Let’s Go Hashing in Grenada! in All At Sea (November 2011; Pages 68-71)

Carriacou Children’s Education Fund Raises Record Amount in All At Sea (October 2011; Pages 85-88): https://www.allatsea.net/carriacou-childrens-education-fund-raises-record-amount/

Cruisers and Businesses Support the Carriacou Children’s Education Fund in Caribbean Compass (September 2011; Page 17): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

Visit Grenada, The Island That Adds Spice in All At Sea (September 2011): https://www.allatsea.net/visit-grenada-the-island-that-adds-spice/

Magnificent Mirabella V in St. Maarten in All At Sea (August 2011; Pages 45-49): https://www.allatsea.net/magnificent-mirabella-v-in-sint-maarten/

Feature Boat Fountaine Pajot Irie – Life is "All Good" on This Little Cat in Latitudes and Attitudes Magazine (June 2011)

Marie-Galante – Remarkable, Rural, and Round in All At Sea (April 2011; Pages 66-67): https://www.allatsea.net/remarkable-rural-and-round-marie-galante/

Antigua Amazes in Caribbean Compass (April 2011; Pages 18-19): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

There’s More to Marigot Than You Think in All At Sea (January 2011; Pages 61-64): https://www.allatsea.net/there-is-more-to-marigot-you-think/

It’s Always Something in Caribbean Compass (January 2011; Page 48): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

Cruising the Eastern Caribbean with Your Dog – Part 2 in Caribbean Compass (December 2010; Pages 30-31): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/dogs_cruising_2.html

Cruising the Eastern Caribbean with Your Dog – Part 1 in Caribbean Compass (November 2010; Pages 20-23): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/dogs_cruising.html

Dogs and Cats – A Perfect Match in Latitudes and Attitudes Magazine (May 2011; Page 116)

Barbuda – One of Nature’s Gifts in Caribbean Compass (July 2010; Pages 16-17): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

Fish-haps in Latitudes and Attitudes Magazine (July 2009; Pages 78-82)

Life of a Love Bus in Bus Conversions Magazine (May 2009)

In Pursuit of the Sloth in BootsnAll (2006)

Getting Splashed by the Pacuare River in Playground Earth (2006)

Interviews:

Author interview with historical fiction author and blogger Beth Camp in January 2021: https://bethandwriting.blogspot.com/2021/01/iwsg-jan-2021-into-new.html

Author interview with memoir author and blogger D.G. Kaye in December 2020: https://dgkayewriter.com/q-a-with-d-g-kaye-featuring-author-liesbet-collaert-and-plunge/

Interview with travel blogger Coralie of Grey Globetrotters as part of her Travel Chat series in September 2020: https://greyglobetrotters.com/travel-chat-liesbet-roaming-about/

Interview with long-term nomad Nora Dunn, The Professional Hobo, for her Financial Case Study series in August 2020: https://www.theprofessionalhobo.com/financial-case-study-liesbet-collaert-roaming-about/

Interview with romance author Jill Weatherholt for her Would You Rather? series in March 2020: https://jillweatherholt.wordpress.com/2020/03/06/welcome-liesbet-collaert-wouldyourather/

Interview with Kiwi house sitter and blogger Suzanne Vickery on her website Global Housesitter x2 in July 2018 (link expired).

Interview with Kristin Hanes on The Wayward Home in April 2018: https://www.thewaywardhome.com/couple-sails-world-buys-a-van-now-house-sitting-the-u-s/

Interview with Sally Cronin in her Smorgasbord Blog Magazine as part of The Open House Sunday Interview series in March 2018: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/2018/03/18/smorgasbord-blog-magazine-the-open-house-sunday-interview-freelance-travel-writer-and-photographer-liesbet-collaert/

Interview with Karen Hume of Profound Journey, Liesbet's Life Less Ordinary: https://profoundjourney.com/life-less-ordinary-alternative-lifestyle/

Interview with Ocean Navigator in March 2017: http://www.oceannavigator.com/Ocean-Voyager-2017/Offshore-Safety-interview/

Interview by Tiffany Owens for Modern Day Nomads in December 2016: https://www.moderndaynomads.com/roaming-about/

Interview with writer/poet/blogger Alistair Lane as a part of his Sunday series The Dirty Dozen in May 2016: https://altheauthor.wordpress.com/2016/05/22/the-dirty-dozen-with-liesbet-collaert/.

Cruising expert survey for Caribbean Compass's 20^th Anniversary Contribution in March 2015 (Page 36): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

Cruising expert survey for All At Sea's feature Cruising as a Way of Life in December 2014 (Page 60 – 63): http://www.allatsea.net/cruising-way-life/ (The cover photo of this issue is mine as well.)

Interview with Multihull Sailor for the Multihull Sailors at Home on the Water-series in the Fall 2014 issue (Page 48): http://www.sailmagazine.com/multihulls/cruising-multihulls/multihull-sailors-at-home-on-the-water/

Interview in Infogem, the bi-monthly information magazine of the town of Berlare, Belgium in July-August 2013 (Page 34- 35)

Interview in the popular Flemish women’s magazine Flair, Zij heeft Lef - series (Issue 47) in November 2012.

Interview with a Cruiser (IWAC) Project in August 2011: http://interviewwithacruiser.blogspot.com/2011/08/10-questions-for-irie.html)

Liesbet Collaert’s Caribbean on World Reviewer in October 2010

Published Poems:

Darwin, the Boat Dog (Caribbean Compass - February 2011 - Page 30): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html - This poem was also published in “Diverse Verse 3 – A Collection of Poetry Compiled by Richard Archer” (UK) in April 2018.

A Little Reminder (Caribbean Compass August 2010 - Page 30): https://www.caribbeancompass.com/backissues.html

Published Walking Tours:

Philipsburg, St. Maarten: https://www.amazon.com/Philipsburg-St-Maarten-Self-guided-Tours4Mobile-ebook/dp/B005IGXCT2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513633351&sr=8-1&keywords=philipsburg%2C+st.+Maarten+liesbet+collaert)

Marigot, St. Martin: https://www.amazon.com/Marigot-St-Martin-Self-guided-Tours4Mobile-ebook/dp/B005IDUBQ2/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1513633498&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=marigot%2C+st.+Maarten+liesbet+collaert

Blogs:

Personal blog: www.roamingabout.com (since November 2015)

Personal blog: www.itsirie.com (2007-2015)

Paid blog for XWaters (December 2010 - March 2012; website expired)

Guest Blogs:

The Covid-19 Effect on Two Nomads in a Camper Van on Travel Tales of Life as part of their Views of Covid-19 Series (Life as a Nomad) in May 2020: https://traveltalesoflife.com/covid-19-life-as-a-nomad/
Volunteering at the Biggest No-kill Animal Sanctuary in the US – Best Friends in Utah on Do More, Be More in December 2019: https://www.domorebemore.net/volunteering-at-the-biggest-no-kill-animal-sanctuary-in-the-us-best-friends-in-utah/
Grateful... for Others, and Ourselves on Retirementally Challenged in July 2018: https://retirementallychallenged.com/2018/07/03/gratituesday-guest-post-grateful-for-others-and-ourselves/
House sitting – A Healthy Mix of Comfort and Discovery on Retirement Reflections in March 2018: https://retirementreflections.com/2018/03/04/house-sitting-a-healthy-mix-of-comfort-and-discovery/
Creating a Lifestyle Catered to Yourself on Retirement Reflections in September 2017: https://retirementreflections.com/2017/09/10/creating-lifestyle-catered/

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: My name is Liesbet too. Weirddddd haha.; February 19, 2013
Liesbet said...: Hello Liesbet,

This is Liesbet! :-) Now, you have me curious about you... Any more info you'd like to share about yourself?

All the best, wherever you are,
Liesbet; February 19, 2013

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It's Irie

Irie is a Fountaine Pajot Tobago, a 35 foot catamaran with a beam of about 19 feet. She was born in France in 1998, and spent her childhood in the Caribbean, before arriving in Maryland, USA.

Irie used to be called Big Trouble, a name she didn't like. From the moment she received her new name, she became a happy girl again, feeling healthy and almost as good as new. Just like everybody else she has her own problems and we keep working on that never ending project list. After sailing thousands of miles, we are still very happy with her and wouldn't want any other boat. For over seven years now, she performed as our house, transportation device and office! But, as of November 2014, Mark and I are ready for new adventures, so Irie can be yours! We have put her up for sale. For more information, check out my blog about our decision or the full listing.

"Irie" means "all good" in Jamaican (Creole). "Irie, mon!" We hope our lives remain irie, and yours as well.

It's Liesbet

Liesbet is a freelance writer and lifetime adventurer from Belgium. Her biggest passion is traveling, and... trying new things. That's how she ended up with Mark, and on this boat. She's flexible, adventurous and easy-going; a must for her kind of life. Some people call her "crazy", but let's just stick with "different".

She adored Kali and Darwin, and actually likes all animals, except mosquitoes, the only creatures she can kill. There's not much that she really hates, other than cruelty, hypocrisy, helplessness and injustice in general. She's still excited about seeing new places, writing about them and hanging out with dolphins, and other wildlife.

Living on a tight budget has been her lifetime commitment in order to travel "forever". To create that budget, she writes, translates (Dutch-English), proofreads, and -if really really really needed- does manual labor.

For more info about Liesbet's articles, click here.

It's Mark

Mark was born in Connecticut, but grew up in upstate New York. He lived in Massachusetts, before moving to California, his favorite state. After living "the American dream" for ten years, he decided it wasn't his thing. After meeting Liesbet in December 2004, he started to travel indefinitely, first by camper, then by sailboat.

He hates ignorance, traffic, and bad customer service. The things he likes are being single-focused, hiking, listening to good music, and just chilling. His biggest passion is sailing, and that's what he is doing right now, full time.

Just so he would never have a spare moment of time anymore, he came up with a great idea to provide WiFi on boats in April 2009. With the help of Liesbet, he invented and developed The Wirie, a marine WiFi system, which grew to be a real business with a partner in the United States and is still expanding with Tim's help.

After a year of full time commitment and very hard work in 2014, he developed a new line of The Wirie products, combining WiFi and cell technologies. The Wirie pro was released in January 2015.

It's Kali

Our girl was an Australian Shepherd mix, with a fluffy tail and a cute face. She survived an awful disease as a puppy, and used that strength throughout her whole life.

Kali was obsessed with tennis balls. She loved human food, but was not allowed to have any. Except on her birthday, when a deliciously cooked steak awaited her. She liked to sniff and stroll around, doing her thing, knowing that we were around. She loved rolling in the grass, but what she liked most was being in the water. She could literally wade in it for hours, wagging her tail, pawing rocks or digging for imaginary things, occasionally sticking her whole face under the water surface, and telling us how much she liked doing this. She was terrified of thunderstorms and fireworks, or everything producing a loud boom. She also didn't like fake grass.

Kali and her unrelated "brother" Darwin were well-traveled puppies, and of all the Central American countries, they liked Mexico , Belize, and Costa Rica the best. Why? There are lots of beaches, calm water, and no leash law! While cruising on Irie, they loved the Bahamas the most.

Tragedy struck just when we were ready to explore and have fun in the "real Caribbean". Kali died unexpectedly in Fajardo, Puerto Rico, on December 26th, 2008. To understand what happened, read the blog "Goodbye, Sweet Girl" of January 2009 (http://www.itsirie.com/2009/01/goodbye-sweet-girl.html). We still miss her very much and think about our special girl every day.

It's Darwin

Darwin was also an Australian Shepherd mix, with a pretty tail, and handsome face. He was very playful, a little dumb sometimes (in a doggie way), but knew darn well how to steal your heart. He was so funny, rolling over in the grass, being eager to do tricks, making funny noises and looking very innocent. He had a way of getting comfortable wherever he laid down, ideally resting his head on one thing or another, from somebody's lap to the table.

Darwin hated to get his toes wet, especially after it rained on the grass. He also didn't like to be rinsed off, have his nails clipped or get a brushing. He loved to annoy his sister Kali, nipping her or grabbing her leg to get her to play. He liked being chased by other dogs, retrieving toys from the air, water, and floor, digging holes in the sand, swimming, "hipping" you with his wet butt, licking good smelling air, eating treats, and wagging his tail. But, most of all he loved to be with us, whatever we did or wherever we were. He was a happy boy!

On December 1st, 2010, not even two years after we lost Kali, disaster struck again in our small, but happy family. Darwin had been diagnosed with malignant tumors in the US and died two days later. We were just heading back to our life on Irie in the Caribbean after a three month break. A boat and life without dogs. We still cannot grasp or belief it. Our hearts will always ache because of this tremendous loss. For the story about Darwin's last days, read the blog "Darwin: Our Bestest Boy"of December 2010 (http://www.itsirie.com/2010/12/darwin-our-bestest-boy.html).