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.

“It was almost standing waves, and we were hobby horsing. The bow was going whoosh, and we were going nowhere,” says Kevin Starnes, 62. He’s

The latest from Dufour should help achieve the French builder’s goal of encouraging people to get on the water and sail, sail, sail.

Going up the mast can be daunting, but not for this sailor who tackled the task while underway on Narragansett Bay last summer. This year,

Title: Gear: Streamlight Wedge EDC Flashlight

When his tiller head broke at the worst moment, cool thinking and the Hydrovane came to the rescue.

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

When Friction is Your Friend Changing engine oil filters has always been a bit of a battle for me. They tighten up in use, and

A futuristic, push-button passagemaker, this powerful cat is designed for adventurous sailors targeting luxurious off-grid cruising.

Ireland’s Royal Cork Yacht Club, founded in 1720, holds the title of the world’s oldest yacht club, but Russia’s Neva Yacht Club (1718) could also

Building their own 44-foot catamaran from the plans up, Matt and Jessica
Johnson embrace the cruising life
from a unique perspective.