Sea Sister by René Spires

12/08/2026

I wasn't conducting an experiment.

I was just a woman on a sailboat in the Caribbean who had gotten into the habit of rubbing Arborvitae essential oil mixed with fractionated coconut oil all over herself every day. 😂🌴⛵️

Then people started telling me…

“You’re glowing.”

And they kept saying it.

My skin looked different. My face looked different. And a couple of other things were happening that I really didn't give much thought to at the time.

Fast-forward all these years and I stumbled across a published study involving Arborvitae and human skin cells.

Wellllll… that sent me straight down memory lane.

Could the oil explain what I experienced?

Maybe.

Maybe not.

But it reminded me of something even more important than beautiful skin.

It reminded me of the woman I was when I was out there living my dream. ❤️

I wrote about it today on 2 Salty Dawgs.

And yes… she really did glow. ✨

The Summer Everyone Told Me I Glowed

28/07/2026

I finally had an "aha!" moment about why I dreaded cooking on our sailboat.
The solution wasn't what I expected, and I'm excited to share the transformation as it happens.
Come join me on the journey. ⛵💚

The Galley Reset: Organizing for the Journey Ahead

23/06/2026

Tonight, everyone stopped.
Boaters, dockhands, marina guests.
We all stood looking toward the same horizon.
No one was talking about politics. No one was talking about work. No one was looking at their phones.
We were simply admiring the beauty of an approaching storm.
For a few minutes, nature reminded us how small we are and how lucky we are to witness it.

22/06/2026

Oh the life we longed for... 😂

Everyone dreams about the sailing life. The sunsets. The anchorages. The dolphins playing at the bow. The freedom. What few people talk about is life on the hard. The daily climb up the ladder to your boat. Moving the same box on and off the boat three times because you're trying to organize a space...

20/06/2026

When most people start shopping for a cruising sailboat, they focus on the fun stuff.

20/06/2026

Don't just look at the wood work or layout.. look at how well it's built... How much diesel, water... Holding tank... Cold storage etc... be more practical... Look at sails, engine.. keel... Is it a bolt on keel, what type of rudder( more on this later 😉) 2 Salty Dawgs good article

How Much Water Does the Average Cruiser Use?

One of the things many new cruisers overlook when shopping for a boat is water and fuel capacity.

Everyone falls in love with the layout, the beautiful woodwork, the number of cabins, or the size of the cockpit. But after living aboard, you quickly learn that water and fuel storage can determine how long you can comfortably stay at anchor and how much freedom you really have.

So how much water does the average cruiser use?

The truth is, it varies tremendously.

Some cruisers are extremely conservative and can make very little water last for days. Others prefer long showers, frequent laundry, and use considerably more.

For us, it looks something like this:

💧 Drinking Water:
I personally drink between ½ gallon and 1 gallon of water per day, especially in hot weather.

💧 Cooking:
Between coffee, cooking meals, washing produce, filling pet bowls, and cleaning cookware, we can easily use 2–3 gallons per day.

💧 Dishes:
We are fairly conservative and probably use around 2 gallons per day washing and rinsing dishes.

💧 Showers:
This is where every boat is different. Skip reminded me that we recently made a 5-gallon solar shower last three days for the two of us. That's far less water than many people would expect. It's not like showering at a diet house... You must wet yourself turn off the water lather up and rinse. I literally would wash my hair once or twice a week to conserve water and honestly my hair was much healthier.

💧 Laundry:
We do laundry onboard about once a week, and we use approximately 7 gallons.

The lesson?

There is no "normal."

Some cruising couples use less than 10 gallons per day. Others may use 20 gallons or more. It all depends on your lifestyle and how conscious you are about conservation.

One thing I highly recommend is a watermaker if you plan to cruise extensively. Having the ability to make your own fresh water provides incredible freedom. Instead of constantly worrying about where you'll fill your tanks next, you can stay at anchor longer and enjoy the places you love.

The same principle applies to fuel.

When you're shopping for a cruising boat, don't just ask:

⛵ How many cabins does it have?
⛵ How big is the galley?
⛵ How pretty is the interior?

Also ask:

💧 How much water can it carry?
⛽ How much fuel can it carry?
⚓ How long can I comfortably stay at anchor? Because if you are anchored and living it.. well you can only stay as long as you have water. So be prepared.😉

Because sometimes the most important features on a cruising boat aren't the ones you see first.

They're the ones that give you the freedom to stay.

I am curious and I am sure others are as well how much water does your crew use each day?

17/06/2026

Today a simple Styrofoam cup got me thinking about dreams, habits, health, and why change is so difficult.
Sometimes the things we know we should do are the hardest things to actually do.
New post on Substack. 💜

I was sitting in a local restaurant looking at this styrofoam cup with a plastic lid and a plastic straw……. And as someone who dreams of sailing the world, I couldn't help but think about the ocean. Sea turtles. Plastic pollution. All the things we know today that previous generations didn't. I ...

14/06/2026

I woke up thinking about the girl I used to be.

At 16, I looked healthy. I was active, athletic, and always on the move.

What nobody could see was the struggle I was hiding.

For more than two decades, I searched for answers. The truth I eventually discovered changed the way I viewed health, healing, and my own body forever.

Today's Sea Sister story is deeply personal.

If you've ever felt unheard, misunderstood, or frustrated by your health, this one is for you.

https://open.substack.com/pub/2saltydawgs/p/what-i-wish-someone-had-told-16-year?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=8k8iyv

The health lessons I spent more than two decades learning the hard way.

31/05/2026

We all have times we know better but still slip into old habits. Recently, I caught myself craving salty, crunchy snacks under stress. Pausing, I realized that pattern...hmm, 🤔 I started thinking... this is a stress trigger, salt, then sweets—it’s a cycle.
What can I do to stop this? I could walk alone, meditate or just stop allowing myself to eat the chips.... you see awareness helped me break it.
My saying is that an old friend told me many years ago.. Jerry Bolles, said to me, "René If you keep doing what you always do you will always get what you have always gotten."
I don't think he realized the impact that would have in my life and the lives of others I would then have influence on myself.

So today, Let’s reflect on our self-sabotage and let's take a proactive step to change it. If for any reason you fall back into a bad pattern of behavior .... Just evaluate it and again figure out why you are self sabotaging and make an action plan... take action. Only we have the power to change ourselves.

Each moment of awareness is a chance to change the pattern.

Hope this helps someone today.

If this resonated with you, give it a like or share it with someone who might need a moment of reflection today. Let’s grow stronger together!

Jan Bolles 💜❤️ 🫂 I miss him