Walking down the dock to the Beneteau 393 Splendid Adventure I felt like I was arriving at the scene of a crime. It was late October, and the overcast night sky was pitch black. The air was sweltering hot, absolutely still. To the right I could see the lights of the port of Pensacola, Florida, to the left the lights of the citys historic Seville Square district. What I was really looking for,
Since my partner, Edvin Buregren, and I started planning to sail the Northwest Passage this summer aboard our 31-foot fiberglass sloop Belzebub IIon a shoestring budget, no lesswe have realized that a polar voyage is unlike any other.Route Planning: Picking a route through the Northwest Passage requires methodical planning. The majority of charted Arctic waters were surveyed with
This past April, the marina at Nanny Cay on Tortola swelled to capacity as thousands of visiting sailors flocked to participate in the 40th anniversary of the BVI Spring Regatta. As it does every year, the regatta village shone as an unparalleled Caribbean sailor’s scene. The docks, which run adjacent to the Peg Leg bar and restaurant, and the village, which stretches along the beach, provided
Horizon Yacht Charters, which has long maintained a network of bases in the Caribbean, is expanding into the United States. This May, the company will open its first North American base in Yacht Haven Marina near Annapolis, Maryland, where it will offer boats from the 2011 Bavaria Cruiser line for bareboat and crewed charter. “We selected Annapolis because it is far and away the
I have always been drawn to solo sailing. Im not sure if its the challenge, the peace and solitude, or just the difficulty of finding good crew. Singlehanding has its risks, but Ive also found sailing alone very rewarding.Aboard my Westsail 32, Antares, I cruised from Detroit up Lake Huron and into Lake Michigan. The first leg, from Port Huron to Mackinac
I have always been drawn to solo sailing. Im not sure if its the challenge, the peace and solitude, or just the difficulty of finding good crew. Singlehanding has its risks, but Ive also found sailing alone very rewarding.Aboard my Westsail 32, Antares, I cruised from Detroit up Lake Huron and into Lake Michigan. The first leg, from Port Huron to Mackinac
The winter of 2011 didnt fool around. Here in Boston, we measured snowfall in Shaq inches while our friends in Chicago got a glimpse of a post-apocalyptic Lake Shore Drive. By the time April
Before I actually took my family on a flotilla vacation, I couldnt understand why anyone would take their family on a flotilla vacation. The mere thought of sailing along in a group of a dozen boats, being herded like sheep into marinas by some officious lead skipper, not to mention the forced jollity with total strangers, filled me with horror. After all, one of the reasons I go sailing is to
The great thing about sailing in a new location for the first time is that you have no idea what to expect. Without a laundry list of hot-spots-we-always-visit, your itinerary is a blank canvas, ready to be painted and repainted as you see fit.This was the case last April when a crew of comrades and I chartered a boat from Annapolis Bay Charters in Annapolis, Maryland, for a week of
The great thing about sailing in a new location for the first time is that you have no idea what to expect. Without a laundry list of hot-spots-we-always-visit, your itinerary is a blank canvas, ready to be painted and repainted as you see fit.This was the case last April when a crew of comrades and I chartered a boat from Annapolis Bay Charters in Annapolis, Maryland, for a week of
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
