User:CruisingKitty
From CruisersWiki
Daria and Alex Blackwell are lifelong sailors and passionate cruisers. They have completed three Atlantic crossings and spent years cruising the coasts of the Americas and Europe, as well as the Bahamas, the Caribbean islands, and the Atlantic islands, most recently double-handing on their vintage Bowman 57 ketch, Aleria. Daria holds a USCG Captain’s license. Alex holds a USCG Master’s license with sailing and towing endorsements. Daria and Alex are members of OCC and ICC. Both are also members of SSCA, Mayo Sailing Club and American Yacht Club. They are also the OCC and TransOcean Port Officers for the West of Ireland and the SSCA cruising station for Ireland. Daria is a member of the OCC Committee as well as their first PR Officer and Digital Communications Chairman.
The Blackwells are co-authors of Happy Hooking: The Art of Anchoring and Cruising the Wild Atlantic Way (of Ireland), both of which have received excellent reviews in the sailing press. Their seminar on anchoring has drawn large crowds and delivered positive attendee feedback (Reference: SailAmerica). They also conduct webinars online on behalf of SSCA’s Seven Seas University and Great Lakes Cruising Club on topics that include anchoring, crossing the Atlantic, and cruising the Caribbean and Ireland, and created an online anchoring course for NauticEd.
Daria and Alex are frequent authors about their sailing adventures, contributing to Yachting World, Cruising Outpost, Cruising World, Classic Boat, Practical Boat Owner, Latitudes & Attitudes Seafaring, Ireland Afloat, Offshore, Windcheck, Points East, Soundings, Flying Fish and elsewhere. For many years, they served as the webmasters for American Yacht Club and launched the popular www.CoastalBoating.net, “the boaters’ resource for places to go and things to know”. As founders of Sail4Kids Make a Memory Cruise, the Blackwells were recognized with prestigious awards by the Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital, American Yacht Club and the International Society for Perpetuation of Cruelty to Racing Yachtsmen.
