Experience The Co-Captain's Log with Friends

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Book Club Discussion Guide

The Co-Captain’s Log tells the true story of Katherine and Andrés González’ real adventure on their 34-foot sailboat, Ana María. They sailed from Washington, USA, to Mexico, and across the Pacific Ocean before landing in New Zealand. Katherine wasn’t a sailor when they started their journey and wasn’t interested in keeping a ship’s log full of boring technical details. Instead, she found herself more interested in documenting and sharing the stories about their experiences as a couple and about the wildlife, people, and cultures they encountered on their way.

The West Coast

1. In The Call to Adventure, Katherine and Andrés set out to accomplish his dream to sail across the Pacific Ocean. When’s the last time you set out to accomplish a big dream? Was it your dream or someone else’s? How did you feel at the onset? Who was your guide?
   
   
2. Katherine and Andrés got rid of most of their possessions before moving onto their 34-foot boat, Ana María. If you could take only one suitcase on a boat for three years, what would you pack?
   
   
3. Katherine quotes a famous sailor, “All sailing couples have an optimist and a pessimist. Without the optimist, they’d never leave the dock. Without the pessimist, they’d sink as soon as they left.” Would you be the optimist or the pessimist?
   
   
4. In Foolish or Brave, Katherine and Andrés return to life aboard Ana María after their accident at Cape Mendocino. Did they make the right decision to get back on the boat and continue to sail? Do you consider them foolish or brave? Have you ever had your own “foolish or brave” decision?
   
   
5. In What Dreams Are Made Of, they accept the invitation to dine at the superyacht after Katherine mentions she lives by the rule, “I’ll accept any invitation extended to me.” Could you live by that rule? How might your life look differently if you did?
   
   

Sea of Cortez

1. In On your Mark. Get Set. Go., Katherine and Andrés skinny-dip while hiking Steinbeck Canyon. Have you ever gone skinny-dipping? Where?
   
   
2. Katherine and Andrés are together 24/7 on their tiny boat. Is it good for a relationship for the individuals to spend so much time together? What are the challenges of such a situation? What are the benefits?
   
   
3. Katherine lauds Andrés’ handyman skills in The Incredible Mr. Fix-It. What’s a trait you don’t have but appreciate in others?
   
   
4. In What a Difference a Year Makes, Katherine and Andrés sail in conditions similar to those they faced a year before at Cape Mendocino and find they have grown as sailors. Think back to a year ago. What’s changed in your life in the past year? How do you hope to grow and develop in the coming year?
   
   
5. Katherine and Andrés celebrate Christmas far from their families on a remote island in the Sea of Cortez. Have you ever celebrated a traditional holiday in a non-traditional way? Would you do it again?
   
   

Pacific Crossing

1. Katherine and Andrés struggle to wait for the right weather window to cast off and set sail for French Polynesia. Are you good at waiting? What’s the toughest waiting you’ve endured? What tricks do you have to make waiting more bearable?
   
   
2. If you were going to be at sea for 30 days, what food would you take?
   
   
3. Andrés is able to quickly fix the broken Monitor windvane at sea because he listened to the advice of a fellow cruiser. When have you been glad you took random advice from a stranger? What’s the best advice you’ve ever given?
   
   
4. Katherine mentions her favorite little luxury on Ana María is a cockpit shower. What’s your favorite little luxury?
   
   
5. What was your reaction when Ana María made landfall? Did reading about their Pacific crossing make you want to sail or perhaps go on a different type of grand adventure?
   
   

South Pacific

1. In Panic in Papeete, Katherine, Andrés, and his parents are almost forced to sleep on the streets of Tahiti when their rental car gets locked in a parking garage. What’s your most exciting travel story?
   
   
2. In the South Pacific logs (and in the email version of the Pacific Crossing), we get to read some of Andrés’ passage logs. What do his logs bring to the story?
   
   
3. While in Tonga, Katherine and Andrés have the opportunity to swim with humpback whales in the wild. What’s one animal you dream of seeing up close in its natural habitat?
   
   
4. Also in Tonga, Katherine and Andrés meet Cordio who invites them to a Tongan feast complete with a kava circle and traditional mass. Have you ever met someone like Cordio? What experiences did you have thanks to that friendship?
   
   
5. At the end of the adventure, Katherine struggles with her identity. “Who will we be now that we aren’t sailors?” Do you think an adventure changes people or does it make them more of who they truly are?
   
   
6. At the end of the book, did you find yourself hoping they would continue the adventure or were you relieved that their adventure was over?