Sail Magazine

by Charles J. Doane

Charles Doane is SAIL’s Executive Editor. He has raced, cruised and lived aboard a variety of boats in harbors around the world.

Zen 24

by Charles J. Doane, Posted March 15, 2013

It’s not often that we here at SAIL get to test-sail production sailboats from Japan. Personally, this is the first one I’ve ever sailed, in a test or otherwise. It is a remarkable little vessel.

Ring Around the Headstay

by Charles J. Doane, Posted February 28, 2013

The first bareboat I ever hired in the Virgin Islands, many moons ago, was from a small hole-in-the-wall charter outfit with a rather motley fleet of vessels.

The Art of Motorsailing

by Charles J. Doane, Posted February 4, 2013

It never fails to amaze me how many jerry jugs of fuel some bluewater sailors are willing to carry on deck. Once I spotted a boat at the fuel dock in St. Georges with 16 jugs open on the quay waiting to be filled...

Chilling in St. Lucia

by Charles J. Doane, Posted December 6, 2012

Ironically, many who sail to St. Lucia do so by default, as it has long been the final destination for the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers. Every year the ARC brings well over 200 yachts en masse from the Canary Islands off Africa straight to Rodney Bay.

Don't Over Trim

by Charles J. Doane, Posted November 28, 2012

Next time the wind goes soft, instead of submitting to this self-fulfilling prophesy of slow-going, try opening up the slot between your mainsail and headsail.

Servicing Dinghy Valves

by Charles J. Doane, Posted October 11, 2012

A well-built Hypalon inflatable dinghy can last well over 10 years if properly cared for. In many cases, the first thing to fail isn’t the fabric but the fiddly little spring-loaded valves used to keep the boat inflated.

The Rally Spirit: ARC Europe

by Charles J. Doane, Posted September 6, 2012

On arriving at St. Georges, Bermuda, this past May to cover the 2012 ARC Europe rally, I quickly found there were four boats in particular that had already formed an unusually close bond.

Back On Board: Testing the Latest Man-Overboard Gear

by Charles J. Doane, Posted July 30, 2012

Much has changed since the staff at SAIL last conducted live-action MOB tests a decade ago. Gear for both locating and recovering persons lost overboard has been refined and improved, as was dramatically demonstrated last summer in the Fastnet Race.

Just Launched: Bamba 50 & Neel 45

by Charles J. Doane, Posted July 11, 2012

Attending the latest edition of Les Salons du Multicoques, a small but influential European boatshow in Lorient in Brittany this past April, we were amused to find that one of the more intriguing new boats on display wasn’t some cutting-edge high-performance job...

There's a First Time For...Sailing at Night

by Charles J. Doane, Posted July 9, 2012

Without a doubt the most magical moments I’ve experienced as a sailor have occurred after the sun was down. I will always recall one summer night I spent off the Carolina coast—horizon lost in a low-lying blanket of fog, brilliant shotgun blasts of starlight directly overhead...