All posts by Matt Garand

Matt Garand

About Matt Garand

Lifelong Mainer, and professional mariner, Matt Garand is the creator of A Life Aboard, a look at year-round living on a sailboat in Maine. Matt and his wife, Skye, live aboard in South Portland and use every available chance to throw off the lines and explore the coast.

A transitional season and a change of scenery

This is supposed to be the time of year that we are sanding and painting, cleaning, rigging, and finishing up projects before the sailing season begins. Yet we’ve felt delayed, if not downright bummed out, when the majority of our available work days are fraught with cold, dark, damp or downright wet weather.

Preparation kept us safe during the March blizzard

The white tipped waves rolling into the marina were 3-4 feet high. Before I knew it, I was knee-deep in the frigid ocean while securing the forward spring line to a new cleat.

When the harbor freezes around your boat

On December 15, 2016, an arctic chill snapped us into winter mode with subzero temperatures and gale force winds. Wind chill values dipped to nearly -40 degrees Fahrenheit, freezing the surface of the bay around us in a matter of hours. Comfortably warm below, we settled in for a movie and listened to the wind’s harmonic resonance in the mast and rigging.

17 sailing sites you need to visit in 2017

Are you ready for a break from Maine winter? Are you craving adventure in tropical locations? Here are 17 websites, blogs, and videos that will get you your summer fix!

Tragedy at sea isn’t about assigning blame

Rather than waste my energy on placing blame for events in the past, I choose to learn from the events that transpired and apply them to my career and my personal life. We can not bring back those that we lost, but we can help to protect those that are still here.

Don’t miss the 2016 Portland Harbor Boat Parade of Lights

The parade began in 2001 when Chris Keane and a few other liveaboards decided to show off their holiday decorations. It has grown into a wildly popular event with participation from all forms of mariners.

Waking up on a boat in the middle of a snowstorm

I woke early to the sound of snow sliding off of our shrink-wrapped enclosure, the reality of living inside an actual snow globe. The weight of the snow breaks loose its adhesion to the plastic and follows with a splash as it crashes into the ocean around us. It’s driving our cat, Farley, entirely mad. He charges from one end of the boat to the other, reacting to a series of taps, swooshes, and splashes.