Columns

October Caption Contest

by Sail Staff, Posted September 30, 2012

Situated at Malvarrosa beach in Valencia, Spain, this fountain, Fuente De Agua, is dedicated to the sea, the winds and the coast. All it's missing is a caption.

Windshifts: The Harrington Rule

by Paul VanDevelder, Posted March 29, 2013

One beautiful August evening last summer we were sailing to meet friends in the Canadian Gulf Islands when the wind died. The tidal current just happened to be at peak ebb on Boundary Pass, so we furled the sails and fired up the engine.

Voice of Experience: A Tied-Up Propeller

by Sheldon Jones, Posted May 3, 2012

My wife and I were aboard Eftihia, our Beneteau 331, sailing from Jost Van Dyke to Beef Island one beautiful afternoon in the British Virgin Islands. Our plan was to rendezvous with friends for dinner at The Last Resort in Trellis Bay, which lay a few miles to windward through restricted waters.

Voice of Experience: Blowout in Belhaven

by David W. Shaw, Posted October 9, 2012

On arriving at Alligator River Marina after a 15-mile passage across Albemarle Sound, we got a bit of a surprise. The place was practically empty, which was weird considering it was October, the height of snowbird season.

Why I'll Never Lead my Lines Aft

by Benjamin Eriksen, Posted May 1, 2013

There is a popular notion, heralded by most modern sailors, that leading all lines aft to the cockpit will simplify your life. I’m here to disagree.

Windshifts: Sailing Daydreams

by Jessica Reid, Posted May 14, 2012

I am lounging in the cockpit with a lemonade in hand, sunglasses on my face and flip-flops nearby. The boom above my head drifts from side to side in perfect time with the small waves.

The Mistress I Don’t Mind

by Sasha Aslanian, Posted October 18, 2012

“Bad news, honey,” my husband, Leif, told me, “We own a sailboat.” That’s how I found out about the Cape Dory Typhoon Weekender.

Voice of Experience: Cutting Loose Down Under

by Andy Schell, Posted April 30, 2013

I first went to New Zealand in 2006. I was 20 years old and setting off on my first long journey away from home, bound for Brisbane, Australia, for a semester of college at the University of Queensland.

Voice of Experience: The Prodigal Dinghy

by Bill Bleyer, Posted May 23, 2012

I watched through stinging spray as my fiberglass dinghy was swamped, turned into a sea anchor, and then quickly snapped its painter as my O’Day 31 surfed down 6-foot seas on Long Island Sound. It probably was unwise to be out on the water that day.

Windshifts: I Hate this Time of Year

by Tim Kent, Posted November 17, 2012

I hate this time of year. Some of my friends wax rhapsodic about crisp fall air, the changing of the leaves and the coming holidays. But all I can see at the end of October is the end of the sailing season and the long winter stretching out before me.