If you think a Caribbean charter is all about the perfect reach, you might be missing the boat. Theres plenty of fun to be had on shore, so jump ship and find it. Sure, youll have a good time at the hangouts catering to sailors and pirates, but for a true taste of island life, take a hike. Stroll to a back street, walk the beach, or climb a hill to find that little store full of nothing or a
I like Jimi Hendrix, but enough is enough. As the final chords of All Along the Watchtower pierced the night air and vanished into the mangroves, I waved goodnight to the rest of the crew and went below. That started an exodus. Ten minutes later the bay was as completely, spookily silent as it had been that afternoon before we steamed in, dropped anchor, popped open some cold ones, fired up the
I heard various comments about Peru from other sailors as I cruised South America, usually to the effect of Dont even go near the coast. Stay at least fifty miles off. These rumors undoubtedly date back to the 1980s heyday of Perus dictatorships and the Shining Path guerillas; Peru is now in fact a pretty tame place. Moreover, it has 1,500 miles of coastline, several key New World
I heard various comments about Peru from other sailors as I cruised South America, usually to the effect of Dont even go near the coast. Stay at least fifty miles off. These rumors undoubtedly date back to the 1980s heyday of Perus dictatorships and the Shining Path guerillas; Peru is now in fact a pretty tame place. Moreover, it has 1,500 miles of coastline, several key New World
I heard various comments about Peru from other sailors as I cruised South America, usually to the effect of Dont even go near the coast. Stay at least fifty miles off. These rumors undoubtedly date back to the 1980s heyday of Perus dictatorships and the Shining Path guerillas; Peru is now in fact a pretty tame place. Moreover, it has 1,500 miles of coastline, several key New World
Lodged in my nautical psyche I find indelible images of rafts: a boy and a runaway slave standing proud before a canvas tent aboard a makeshift pontoon of pine planks floating down the muddy Mississippi; a sun-bronzed Viking in a loincloth steering a lashed-up slab of balsa logs across the electric-blue Pacific with a massive oar. Having always wanted to be that boy and that Viking, how could
Echoes of a long-ago family charter reverberate in a Florida charter with grandchildren. Maybe it’s genetic. It was a long time ago—in our family’s history and in the history of chartering boats—when my husband, George, feeling in immediate need of a vacation one August, chartered the only boat available in the state of Maine. It was our first time
Its been a while since I sailed out of St. Vincentthe mainland to the eight inhabited (three by resorts) islands of the Grenadines, plus the Tobago Caysso I was happy to be invited on a press trip there, especially one that included two days of sailing. Its probably the most popular charter area after the Virgin Islands, and with good reason: the sailing is superb, though more
Just as we were about to ease into a quiet evening at anchor in Presque Isle Bay, on the south side of Wisconsins Stockton Island, the crowd rushed in. The procession of cruising sailboats resembled a busy airport with planes lined up miles to leeward of the main runway. We watched as the cruisers came from all over the Apostle Islands and dropped into formation, motoring one by one into the
An early-season week in British Columbia desolation sound proves that you can still get away from it all.It wasnt until our third day of cruising Desolation Sound that we began to feel, well, desolate. Wed overnighted in two anchorages that were almost empty by East Coast standards, but full by British Columbia measuresi.e., we still had other boats within earshot. The
A woman in search of new adventures finds a Pacific Seacraft 34 to carry her dream.
By Tom Cunliffe, Adlard Coles, $35 Amazon.com, $26.47 One could read the subtitle of Tom Cunliffe’s new Bosun’s Bag—A Treasury of Practical Wisdom for the
Fish On—Carefully. If you’re fishing for dinner, choose your reef fish wisely to avoid toxic ciguatera.
The first Vendée Globe competitors are closing in on the finish line. For Zhik, there’s been no better test of their offshore gear than Yoann Richomme putting it through the paces during his incredible race.
The Cruising Club of America announces its annual awards to six sailors for a range of accomplishments, all of them bound by the same deep commitment to bold bluewater sailing.
The January/February 2025 issue of SAIL is on newsstands today, and here’s a quick look at what’s inside!
We are excited to kick off the new year with SAIL’s Top 10 Best Boats for 2025, which our team of judges chose after months of testing, walkthroughs, and study of nearly two dozen models. Whether it’s a fresh crop of small yet surprisingly spacious cruisers to bring more accessible price points to the market or purpose-built adventure boats made for chasing down the horizon, these boats are all about making dreams a reality.
No Dragging in the Gale When the weatherman says it’s going to blow old boots, most of us tend to look for a marina berth.
We all know that we need to carry flares for potential emergencies onboard, but traditional flares are a sticky wicket when it comes to safe,
The Cruising Club of America (CCA) is a collection of 1,400 ocean sailors with extensive offshore seamanship, command experience, and a shared passion for making
