There was a time, not too long ago, that sailboat chartering meant renting a boat, gathering a crew, learning to captain it (or paying a captain) and taking off for some time in paradise.
When I was 11, my Dad, his buddies and I sailed Wind Dancer, his C&C 37, from Long Island Sound to Chesapeake Bay. It was my second offshore passage.
“I always put the fear of God into people that this is the world’s third-largest barrier reef,” says Capt. Joe Dyll of the western Florida Keys, which have long been one of his favorite cruising grounds.
When Dr. Seuss wrote these words, he must have had cruisers on his mind. Rare is the cruiser who doesn’t dream of sailing over the horizon, of exploring remote areas.
Each year, SAIL and St. Vincent and the Grenadines offer our readers the trip of a lifetime: a free charter in paradise on board a TMM Yachts charter boat. To win, readers submit their “Top Five Reasons” for chartering in SVG, and we sift through 1,000 essays to pick our winner.
As the sailing world gears up for the America’s Cup, it seems that all eyes are on the City by the Bay. But 500 miles south, just grazing the Mexican border, lies a city where you can sail year-round, the weather is nearly perfect and sailors are friendly as can be.
Our hosts, John and Caroline Charnley, and my wife, Caroline, were already swimming in the cool, fresh water, but of course, I just had to jump in from the “cliff” (about 10 feet high) above the pool.
It was the summer of 1946. Three of us teenagers from Grand Rapids, Michigan, all about to join the military, caught a car ferry to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and backpacked through the Porcupine Mountains on one final adventure together.
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.
The typical snowbird traveling the Intracoastal Waterway sees little of North Carolina’s Neuse River, choosing instead to pick up the ICW again at Adams Creek. More than a few, though, have been known to not only venture another 25 miles upriver to New Bern for a visit, but to winter over there.
Is single sideband radio still relevant in today’s Starlink world?
With fresh thinking and some risk taking, Lagoon creates a worthy successor to an immensely popular model.
In 2001, SAIL’s then executive editor, Charles Mason, awarded Garry Hoyt the magazine’s Industry Award for Leadership, noting his “insatiable desire to make sailing simpler,”
Whether you prefer digital or old school, charts do a great job of getting you where you need to go, and satellite images can provide
Adding low friction rings to your boat’s rigging repertoire can be a lighter, more affordable alternative to line management.
The winner of the CCA’s seamanship medal says that accepting the new reality during a sinking situation is critical to safety.
In love with wooden boats from the start, he found a unique Alden design that continues to fulfill his sailing dreams.
Skinny water and all, a shoulder-season charter in Belize makes for a great escape.
The May 2025 issue of SAIL is here, and we’ve put a special focus on adventure.
The US Sailing Safety at Sea seminar in Annapolis is all about hands-on learning and gaining new perspectives about safety, whether racing or cruising, offshore or coastal.
