SAIL.SailMagazine

We cruised by the Strawberry Island Lighthouse in Canada’s North Channel at 7 knots in a brisk 25-knot wind. I was aboard Henk Vanderhulst’s Precision 23, Go Gently, and he, despite his 80 years, was unwilling to risk his reputation for leaving the fleet in his wake.

Once you’ve been through a few sail changes, you might think of the prevailing wind as “variable.”And once you’ve gone the length of Lake Michigan, you will be, in a small way, a veteran of sailing in the heart of America. I say “in a small way” because there is a lot of

“Just head for the buoy up ahead, and make sure you leave it to starboard.” An instruction like this is asking for trouble, especially if a novice is steering. All it takes is a bit of cross current and the boat will be gradually set off course, all the while pointing faithfully at the buoy; it may even be set onto the very hazard the buoy is marking.

Impellers for the engine’s raw-water pump don’t last forever. Even if they aren’t destroyed by having been run dry following a blockage in the raw-water line, they still deteriorate over the years. If you’ve never had to change one, try installing a new one when the boat is safe on its mooring, and then go out and buy a new spare. You might be

Seamanship