Animal Encounters Under Sail
Cruising the Great Lakes has one drawback: you don’t see many whales or dolphins, or frigatebirds or puffins, for that matter. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still have plenty of equally meaningful brushes with nature.
Cruising the Great Lakes has one drawback: you don’t see many whales or dolphins, or frigatebirds or puffins, for that matter. But that doesn’t mean you can’t still have plenty of equally meaningful brushes with nature.
The Pacific Northwest and the fishing we did on our Desolation Sound charter inspired some great cooking. These were a few of our choice memories, and recipes I highly recommend.
Most sailors I know—and there are many sailors where I live in coastal Massachusetts—are unmitigated do-it-yourselfers who like to do their own trip planning, boat prepping, provisioning, cooking and cleaning.
I’ve sailed past Michigan’s Grand Traverse Bay many times, first as a deckhand on various ore boats making their way between Minnesota and Indiana Harbor, Indiana, then during the course of a number of Chicago-Mackinac races.
Thoughts of Homer’s walled cities, epic battles and tragic heroes filled our minds as we prepared for our weeklong charter in Turkey. True, our charter base in Marmaris was over 300 miles south of Troy, but that didn’t keep us from dreaming of ruins and lost civilizations.
Two hundred and fifty miles north of Seattle and 3,400 miles from home, our crew of six was more than a little slaphappy after a long day of travel. As we drove toward Comox, British Columbia, we decided to create a wish list for the charter trip ahead.
We left the hustle and bustle of Charlevoix, Michigan, just in time to make the second drawbridge opening of the morning as we pointed our bow toward Beaver Island, an isolated destination about 32 miles offshore in the middle of northern Lake Michigan. There was a thick fog, and a light drizzle fell from the sky. Thanks to our chartplotter, I knew our position and the proper heading to the island, but having no radar I remained wary.
In the far Pacific, long-distance cruisers celebrate what it means to voyage, while locals celebrate what it means to be Tongan.
Even after dozens of visits over the years, I still find that Damariscove Island is pleasantly mysterious in a way unmatched by Maine’s other offshore islands
From June to September, the Cove is open to the public, and twenty families live and work there together. In the off-season, the number decreases to 12 residents and fuel and water are only available three days a week. In the words of another local, “Refuge Cove is for the sort of people who max out after three months of socializing.

Hang on Tight! Moving aft from the foredeck on a windy day, have you noticed a sort of no-man’s land between the mid-deck where coachroof

Colloquially the term “skyscraper” is used to refer to a tall city building, but nearly a hundred years before its modern architectural association, it had

The William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge, locally known as the Bay Bridge and actually two spans (one built in 1952, the second in 1973),

For National Safe Boating Week (May 17-23) we’re revisiting some of the best safety stories, recommendations, and gear from our sister publications. Today, Power & Motoryacht’s podcast episode with SAIL managing editor Lydia Mullan discussing the sinking of Alliance and key takeaways from the rescue.

NOAA predicts up to 19 named storms in the Atlantic basin this season, with three to five becoming major hurricanes.

From Passagemaker: Tips on how to navigate safely in fog.

For National Safe Boating Week (May 17-23) we’re revisiting some of the best safety stories, recommendations, and gear from our sister publications. Today, Passagemaker offers cold-water survival tips for boaters.

I was delivering a boat back from the Annapolis Sailboat Show last year and decided to pick up a pair of these boots for the

Sailing Alone Around the World Joshua Slocum completed the first recorded solo circumnavigation in 1895-98. Instead of using a chronometer to determine the time for

For National Safe Boating Week (May 17-23) we’re revisiting some of the best safety stories, recommendations, and gear from our sister publications. Today, from Soundings,