Welcome to the LIFE AND TIMES OF LIL CAP

Hi, I’m Emily

When I was 21—newly minted with a college degree and feeling like I hadn’t learned much worth remembering—I bought a little sailboat and set out to see the world.

A woman standing outside a thatched-roof wooden hut on stilts, with trees and greenery in the background.
Silhouette of a Moai statue on Easter Island, against a bright sky with clouds and a partly visible sun.
Three people in yellow raincoats are on a boat off the coast of Easter Island, with a body of water and hills in the background, during daylight.
Two people sleeping on rocky ground on a beach in Papua New Guinea

Twenty years later, and I’m still at it, enamored by the same things that initally drew me to the sea: boats, distant horizons, new ways of seeing.

Close-up of a green jade stone against a black background.
Close-up of a piece of light-colored sea glass from Brittany, France
A vintage silver and black Canon AE-1 film camera with a 50mm lens and a Canon lens cap.
Close up of a small starfish
A mint green Lepen pen with a fine tip lying horizontally on a black background.
Close-up of a green Le Pen cap.
A close-up image of a scallop shell with a fan shape, ridges, and a pinkish-brown coloration.
A close-up of a white seashell with some ash or dirt inside, placed on a neutral surface.
Close-up of a scallop shell with a rough, textured surface and several small holes, placed on a light brown background.
Close-up of a seashell with beige and brown ridges and patterns.
A worn paperback book titled 'Doubt' by Robin Lee Graham with a black and white cover image of a boy on a boat, featuring torn edges and visible creases.
Close-up of a round, textured, brown cork disc.
A vintage military-style rifle with a chain and anchor embellishment attached to it, oriented diagonally against a black background.
Close-up image of a white, textured oyster shell with hints of gray and light brown, displaying some rough and smooth areas.
Close-up of a pale, textured mineral or stone with a smooth, curved surface.
Close-up of a seashell with white and brown patterns against a black background.
A red and black wooden pencil lying horizontally.
Close-up of a green stone or mineral with a smooth surface.
Close-up of a pink and white seashell with textured ridges.
A folded folded aeronautical chart showing weather and navigation details for the region around Sud Irlande, France, with some parts crumpled and discolored.
A partially opened pack of Zig-Zag Swow Burning rolling papers, with the top corner folded back and white rolling paper visible.
Close-up of a textured blue visiting card or paper with detailed black line drawings of an octopus, squid, and other sea creatures on it.
A vintage book cover titled "The Lost World of the Kalahari" featuring a black background with orange, beige, and black circles and a black and white photograph of a person with dark skin, wearing traditional jewelry.
Close-up of a handwritten sign with the words 'foriegen' and 'clues' written in black marker on white paper.
Book titled 'The African Queen' by C.S. Forester, with black cover and gold illustration of palm trees and a boat.
Close-up of a gray seashell with ridges and a textured surface.
A close-up of a round, fuzzy ball with a textured surface covered in small bumps.
Cover of a maritime navigation book titled 'Carte Guide' in multiple languages, featuring maps of France and surrounding regions.
Blue ballpoint pen lying horizontally on a black background.
A snow-covered rooftop during dusk with streetlights and a dark sky.
A close-up of a beige, textured cone-shaped object, possibly a piece of food or material.
Yellow Personal Locator Beacon
A close-up view of a white, irregularly shaped mineral or rock with some small surface imperfections and a tiny hole near the center.
Close-up of a black piece of volcanic rock with a rough texture.
Close-up image of crab claw.
A corkscrew wine opener with a wooden handle and a metal spiral. The corkscrew is positioned diagonally.
Close-up of a conch sea shell with a conical shape, pointed spire, and multiple ridges.
A red pencil with a sharpened tip and a gold-colored eraser with a pink rubber cap
Red pencil shavings
Close-up of a Limpet shell
Close-up of a green sea glass
Close-up of handwritten text saying "seaglass" on textured paper.
Close-up image of a spiral-bound notebook with a cardboard cover titled 'FIELDS NOTES' in light blue text, showing part of the cover and spiral binding on the top edge.
Close-up of an used copy of KON TIKI
Close-up of a cooked crab with pale beige shell and long legs.
A yellow marker pen with silver accents lying horizontally on a black background.
cursive writing of "Foreign"
Close-up of a seashell with pinkish and white hues, showing detailed ridges.
Close-up of the book "SALVADOR" by Joan Didion, with a black cover and white text.
Close-up of a seashell with orange and beige stripes
Close-up of a rugged, gray and white stone or mineral with rough texture.
Close up of a Casio F-91W digital wristwatch.
A black Marantz professional solid state recorder with a digital display, various control buttons, and input/output ports.
photo of a French Opinel pocket knife
19 May 2026 Rivière de Morlaix

I wrote a book about the Big Voyage I did in my twenties. With any luck, it’ll be out this Fall.

You can sign up for updates about that here.

For now, I’m back at sea on a new boat —the lovely EL DORADO, a 1981 Nauticat 33—headed north along the Atlantic coast of France.

This year, along with a partner, I’ll be in the canals of France working on a television show about the inland waterways of Europe.

My voyages have been featured in a variety of national and international media

NPR logo with red, black, and blue background behind the white lowercase letters 'n', 'p', and 'r'.
ABC Australia logo with stylized 'ABC' and the word 'Australia' underneath
Red logo with a stylized star, game controller, and the word 'triplej'
National Geographic Traveler logo with yellow border around the text.
The CBC logo, a red geometric design resembling a stylized globe or network, with the acronym 'CBC' in black text below.
The logo of The New York Times in black Gothic font on a transparent background.
A highly pixelated image with text and design elements in red, white, and beige, making it difficult to discern specific details or the content.

Got an interview request?

Submit that here.

Every month I send out a small batch of postcards from various ports of call to friends around the world.

I call it my FOREIGN CORRESPONDENCE CLUB.

Interested in joining?

More info here
Cream-colored envelope with light blue interior, shown open.
Close-up of a black embroidered text on a light background, reading 'Family counts' in cursive script.

Want to support the voyage in other ways?

3% Cover the Fee

More adventurous currencies here:

FAQs

How did you get started in sailing?

1

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2

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3

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4

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