Sail Magazine

by Connie McBride

Save Energy Onboard with a 12-Volt Laptop Charger

by Connie McBride, Posted January 8, 2013

For many cruisers with simple electrical needs, a laptop computer can be the biggest power hog onboard. On our Creekmore 34, Eurisko, we need a laptop not only for my writing, but for our three homeschoolers.

Compass Mask

by Connie McBride, Posted December 18, 2012

Sunlight is not good for your compass. The liquid inside gets cloudy over time, making it hard to read a heading.

Repairing a Blistered Bottom

by Connie McBride, Posted December 10, 2012

We were spending hurricane season in Trinidad on our Creekmore 34 Eurisko and thought we might as well haul her out to apply another coat of bottom paint. What we found when she emerged from the water turned a three-day quick haul into a three-month ordeal.

Furled Too Tight

by Connie McBride, Posted November 18, 2012

On a good day a furling headsail is like magic. You pull on the furling line and your sail is neatly rolled away until you need it again. At some point, however, most of us have rolled up our headsail in such high winds that it furls much more tightly than usual...

Avoid Thievery at Sea

by Connie McBride, Posted July 11, 2012

When we took our laptop in for repairs in Panama, we knew there was a chance it was irreparable. But we hadn’t thought it might get stolen.

No More Cotter Pins

by Connie McBride, Posted June 18, 2012

Standing at the bow of Eurisko, our Creekmore 34, my heel always scrapes the turnbuckle for the cutter stay when I operate the windlass. For many years I inevitably returned to the cockpit after setting the anchor with a bloody foot where the cotter pin had gouged me.

Holes Be Gone

by Connie McBride, Posted April 12, 2012

When a boat’s systems or interior are modified, you may need or want to glass over existing holes in the hull. One season when we hauled out in Trinidad, we decided to eliminate three through-hulls in our Creekmore 34, Eurisko. The holes were all different sizes, but we treated this as one project.

Cruising Tips: Spouting Off

by Connie McBride, Posted August 24, 2011

Waterspouts are not just “tornadoes over water.” Meteorologists admit they still have much to learn about these phenomena, but there is a typical “waterspout cloud” that usually generates them. These dark, flat-bottomed cumulus clouds generally get no taller than 20,000 feet. As clouds go, this is noticeably low. Waterspouts get their energy from heat in the water, so they are most frequently

Sailing Sense: Take Precautions Early

by Connie McBride, Posted June 15, 2011

When Hurricane Omar passed between St. Martin and St. Croix in mid-October last year, we found ourselves right in the middle of it. I like to think we are a little different from many of the other cruisers who were in St. Croix’s Christiansted Harbor when the storm went through. My husband, Dave, and I have raised our three boys on our Creekmore-designed 34-foot cutter, Eurisko. We always sail

Duct and sand

by Connie McBride, Posted August 18, 2009

We were sanding the epoxy on the bottom of our 34-footer when the PSA sandpaper disks my husband Dave was using started flying off the pad of his sander. Both the sander and the pad were new at the beginning of the project that was, of course, many disks ago. Dave cleaned the pad but then watched as another disk flew off. Because it was Sunday and the chandlery was closed, he was going to have to