In 1996 while sailing in the Western Caribbean, Kathy started teaching Spanish to her fellow boaters who were frustrated by their inability to communicate. Her students said: "Your approach is so easy - You should write a Spanish for Cruisers book to help other boaters." And so it began, as she roamed through the hardware stores, boatyards and anchorages, "researching" the words and phrases used in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean.

She wrote SPANISH FOR CRUISERS aboard her sailboat, publishing it in 2000. It quickly became a standard reference aboard cruising yachts.

Kathy says:

“I’ve seen how frustrating it is for most cruisers to communicate in Spanish-speaking countries. Dictionaries and travel phrase books don’t have the specific boating and mechanical vocabulary and phrases we need.

Ideally, you want to feel comfortable maintaining and repairing your boat with the help of the local economy. You want to be able to take advantage of the inexpensive, skilled labor and often excellent local materials available in these countries. You want to handle projects smoothly to give you more time to enjoy the countries you came to visit.”

Kathy "researching"
SPANISH FOR CRUISERS
in Santo Domingo