About Ruby

In 2015 at the age of 50, I boarded an Australian ketch in Dutch Harbor, Alaska on the heels of a devastating change in my life. I knew nothing about sailing.

Over the next seven months I sailed over 8,500 nautical miles, covering the cold waters of the north pacific, then sailing across the vast South Pacific visiting remote islands and atolls including Fanning Island (Kiribati), Penrhyn (Cook Islands), Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and landing finally in Brisbane, Australia. 

That experience ignited a huge passion for sailing, and for the following seven years I devoted all my time to crewing all over the world, learning everything I could about various boats, sail plans and the temperaments of the varying oceans, weather and styles of sailing. From sailing the European waters of the Med, including the seas of Turkey, Greece, Corsica, Sardinia and the coastline of Italy, to the rich waters of Mexico and the vast exotic atolls of French Polynesia -all of which underscored the variety in sailing styles, etiquette and customs.

After two South Pacific crossings, including sailing the difficult seas to Gambier Islands, Austral Islands and the various unpopulated atolls of the Tuamotus, and racking up over a total of 40,000 nautical miles, I sold my home and bought my beautiful boat, Makani.   

I am one of a few single-handing women my age circumnavigating the globe and the only woman to single-hand from Mexico to French Polynesia in 2024.

And this is where you enter the picture. I believe many, many more women should be out sailing the seas. I started SeaNixie as a way of introducing women to an accessible world of sailing. 

My priority is to get you out on the seas and give you the tools to becoming a confident sailor in a supportive and positive way. It doesn’t matter your age or skill level. What matters is your desire to sail under the guidance of your own hands.