Voyaging Life
Amazon Author Page
Amazon has given me an author page for my book, A Voyage of Heart and Song. I feel so official!
From January 1998 to March 2004 Liza and Alan Farrow-Gillespie of Dallas, Texas, completed a two-person sailing circumnavigation — their lifetime dream — aboard the Hylas 54, Heartsong III.
Liza has published a lighthearted memoir of the trip, entitled A Voyage of Heart and Song. This website supplements the book with photographs, videos, and a more detailed description of the circumnavigation route and the boat.
All told, Heartsong III sailed more than 37,000 miles. She crossed three oceans (Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic), made landfall on six continents (all except Antarctica), and visited more than 50 countries. During the trip, about 20,000 people from 57 countries followed the website.
The F-Gs have resumed land life in Dallas, Texas. Liza is an attorney and partner with Farrow-Gillespie Heath Witter, LLP. Alan is a pediatric anesthesiologist and assistant chief of the anesthesiology department at Children’s Health Medical Center of Dallas, as well as a Professor of Anesthesiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center.
The hardest part about returning to work? Wearing shoes.
In August 2018, Liza was diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer. She posts updates on her status to friends and family at Liza on Leave.
Amazon has given me an author page for my book, A Voyage of Heart and Song. I feel so official!
A Voyage of Heart and Song, the book about Liza and Alan Farrow-Gillespie’s sailing circumnavigation, was released on January 14, 2019, by Texan Press, Inc., and BookBaby. Book Description Here is the book description from Read more…
Thank you for joining us along our journey and for participating in this site. There are so many people around the world who made the trip even more special. I won’t list all the names, Read more…
Here are some random summaries and final thoughts from 6 years of living on a sailboat. Favorite Anchorages (in no particular order) Bay of Virgins, Fatu Hiva, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia Secret Harbour, Grenada Musket Read more…
Here are lists and discussions of the flags Heartsong III carried during the circumnavigation. Primary Flag — Stars and Stripes According to international maritime law, a yacht must fly from the stern an easily visible Read more…
Here is a list of peripheral equipment and accessories aboard Heartsong III for all or part of the circumnavigation. Tender and Outboards Southern Pacific RIB 3.1-meter dinghy (previous dinghy lasted about 3 years) Yamaha 15hp Read more…
Here is a list of the major equipment aboard Heartsong III for all or part of the circumnavigation. Rig Selden furling mast Selden Furlex furling jib Retractable staysail stay Lewmar electric primary winches Lewmar manual Read more…
Almost exactly halfway across the Atlantic Ocean, we had a perfect day of downwind sailing, followed by a perfect sunset with a very light evening breeze. Our sail rig is “butterfly” — gennaker and poled-out Read more…
On passage in the Adriatic and Ionian Seas between Primosten, Croatia, and the Straits of Messina, we saw a lot of dolphins — as we have all over the world. Most of the time, though, Read more…
Phong Gna Bay, adjoining Phuket Island, has more beautiful anchorages per square meter than just about anywhere else in the world. The day we shot this video, we anchored just north of Ko Hong. A Read more…
In Phong Gnong Bay, near Phuket, Thailand, we drove the dinghy around the boat at sunset for a 360-degree look at both her and her beautiful surroundings.
Near the city of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia is the Kuala Gandah Elephant Conservation Centre (KGECC). On a land-trip away from the boat in November 2002, we had a wonderful day at the center, as Read more…
In my view, successful voyaging is dependent on successful preparation. Nothing is easier or more effective than a good checklist. Here is the checklist we used prior to any departure. For All Open-Ocean Trips, Including Read more…
Time was once a balance beam And I a gymnast, just to stay on it; On time. Hard on its edge I ran my routine, And prayed for precision, not to fall from it — Read more…
On December 31, 2001, we were anchored in the middle of Sydney Harbour, not far from the Harbour Bridge, for the annual New Year’s Eve Harbour Party. Many hundreds of boats of every description were Read more…
Vanuatu Cruising Notes from August 2001 (Partial) **IMPORTANT NOTE: The information below is NOT intended to be complete, but rather is selective, opinionated, and reflects our own particular experience at the time.** Entry and Exit Read more…
Fiji Cruising Notes: June-July 2001 **IMPORTANT NOTE: The information below is NOT intended to be complete, but rather is selective, opinionated, and reflects our own particular experience at the time.** Entry Entry ports for Fiji Read more…
Although you can’t go wrong traveling anywhere in New Zealand, here are our top 10 sight-seeing destinations in New Zealand. Milford Track (and starting-point village of Te Anau, and end-point Milford Sound). This is a Read more…
We spent about 18 months in New Zealand, cruising and land-traveling. It is a paradise on earth. Here is some information that was current as of 2001. **IMPORTANT NOTE: The information below is NOT intended Read more…
The dugong (DOO-gong) is a rare, nearly extinct marine mammal. A relative of the manatee, the dugong has a whale-like tail and is without question the oddest-looking creature we have ever seen underwater. It feeds Read more…
Statistics from the Logbook June 1998 through December 2000 (Florida to New Zealand) From departure until January 1, 2001, Heartsong III sailed 12,000 miles and visited 70 different ports (some more than once) and 17 different countries Read more…
In the summer of 2000, we left the boat on the hard in New Zealand and flew to Australia for some land travel. We decided it would be fun to do an extended bicycle trip, Read more…
This post is from Alan. Sailing Terminology Avast Ye: “I say there good sailing person, could I have your attention please?” Bow: Pointy front end of boat Forward: Toward the bow Stern: Flat back end Read more…
Okay you lubbers — and you know who you are. Here are answers to questions we get all the time. (This page was written in Auckand, New Zealand, in 2000.) 1. What has been the Read more…
Here is the watch schedule and task list we kept for the 6-day passage from Tonga to New Zealand. Hours Watch Task Time Radio Freq Notes 0900 ALAN Morning Check engine fluids 0900 Log Read more…
In November 1999, we departed Tongatapu, Kingdom of Tonga, for Whangarei, New Zealand. The passage took six exhilarating days. Even though we had lumpy seas and 25-40 knots of wind most of the way, we Read more…
July 1999 Dear Dick Jachney & Joseph Huang, et al.: In 1996 and 1997, we must have looked at 50 new and used boats in our quest to find the right offshore sailing vessel for Read more…
In Bora Bora in1999, Jeff from Sea Witch took this underwater video of Alan diving in Manta Ray Alley on an overcast and squally day. Manta Rays, sometimes known as Giant Mantas, are technically members Read more…
In April 1999, we completed our transit of the Panama Canal and set sail across the Pacific Ocean. First stop was the Galapagos Islands, where we spent several weeks of eco-touring land travel. For the Read more…
Published in Boca Magazine, Trinidad & Tobago Imagine three couples, long-time friends in land-locked Dallas, Texas. Imagine further that they first met in a 30-boat sailing club on a lake five hundred miles from the Read more…
***IMPORTANT NOTE: THE INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE IS NOT CURRENT. IT WAS WRITTEN IN 1994. DO NOT RELY ON THE INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE OR ON THIS WEBSITE FOR ANY NAVIGATIONAL PURPOSES WHATSOEVER.*** If we Read more…
Below is a copy of an off-the-cuff guide I wrote back in the early 1990s for some friends who were chartering in the Virgin Islands. Be aware that some of the info will be very dated. Read more…