New Boats to TryOne of the pleasant aspects of chartering is the opportunity to give new and different boats and/or gear an extended test-sail. If youre a lifelong monohull sailor, you can give a catamaran a weeks workout to see if sailing on two hulls is a good fit for your future sailing plans; if you wonder how the very latest modern conveniences might enhance
Role PlayingThis months contributor is Tom Reinke, who sails a Flying Scot with his wife, Mary. They love leading bareboat charters and turning over the helm to the officer of the day. If youre new to charteringor if your friends areyoull find his organizational ideas helpful.The primary objective of a charter is to have a good time, and that means different things
2007Charter News from Annapolis (December 2007)Charting a Charter (November 2007)New Digs for The Moorings in Tortola (September 2007)Shopping List (August 2007)Charter Insurance (July
We cruised by the Strawberry Island Lighthouse in Canada’s North Channel at 7 knots in a brisk 25-knot wind. I was aboard Henk Vanderhulst’s Precision 23, Go Gently, and he, despite his 80 years, was unwilling to risk his reputation for leaving the fleet in his wake.
Once youre out of sight of land for a while, you understand why they speak of offshore sailing in the Great Lakes.Once youve been through a few sail changes, you might think of the prevailing wind as variable.And once youve gone the length of Lake Michigan, you will be, in a small way, a veteran of sailing in the heart of America. I say in a small way because there is a lot of
Travel SmartsWeve heard some sad tales from a number of reader/charterers who had troubles getting themselves and their luggage to the desired destination in the Caribbean. Theres no way to solve their problems retroactively, of course, but there are ways to prevent them in the future. I talked with Judy Shapiro, an agent with Caribbean Travel (800-327-5540) for
Charter a PassageI think its fair to say that a significant difference between finding a passagemaking opportunity through a course or membership group (see page 60) and going the crewed-charter route is the wealth of options offered by the worldwide fleet of crewed boats. These have to do primarily with the size of the boat (from around 40 feet on up, and up some
Should You Insure Your Trip?Your charter company can and will go to great lengths to ensure that your sailing vacation is all you hoped it would be, but no charter company can ensure that you and/or your crew will not be subject to the slings and arrows of life. Nor, of course, can an insurance company. But travel insurance can make sure that you dont pay extra for
Stormy WeatherIf you choose to sail in the Caribbean in the summer, especially in the month of August, you couldnot inevitably, to be surefind yourself somewhere along the track of a hurricane. Then what? I talked with Tim Johnson of TMM and Sylvia Driver of Horizon Yacht Charters to find out. PERSONAL SAFETY You wont be caught by a sudden hurricane; hurricanes
Less is MoreIf youre looking for a Caribbean sailing vacation with more bang for the buck, summer is when youll find it. In June, many important elementscharter rates, airfares, crowds in anchorages, wind velocityshow a welcome downward trend. Whats more, the usually north-of-east trade winds shift to the south of east, so north-facing anchorages that are subject to northerly
You never quite know what’s going to happen on a test sail; often, these boats are fresh off the presses, so to speak, still being
As the 70-foot Sunseeker drifted down on us in the dark, I couldn’t stand it any longer. I lurched forward on deck in my bathrobe,
It was early summer, and twilight had stretched itself across the sky with feline languor. The afternoon breeze had dwindled to a zephyr, and we
Small boat sailors interested in performance and even simply sailing well know how important it is to be able to feel shifts and changes in
Top 10 Best Boats Each year SAIL’s expert review team spends boat show season—and sometimes months leading up to it—sea trialing and inspecting the new
It was a crisp Saturday morning in early spring. Six of us had assembled to commission our sailing club’s older 32-foot sloop for a season
Nov. 29/2023: And here I am—way late—with a description of how the good ship Lunacy and her faithful Lunatics finally finished their voyage down to
The results are in, and the Cruising Club of America (CCA) has announced the recipients of its 2023 awards. Kirsten Neuschäfer of Port Elizabeth, South
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
Every year, boatbuilders of all types submit their new models to be nominees in the SAIL Top 10 Best Boats contest. We start reviewing these
