The first time I ever used a GPS on an offshore passage we almost lost the boat. The navigator, delighted with his new toy, had plotted a waypoint just off our destination, but somehow missed the long, low, unlit headland between us and it.
It all started with losing my job. Like many people in recent years, I found myself unemployed, and the lack of activity made for restless hands. I figured since I couldn’t find work, I might as well build a boat.
Misleading as its name may be, Bahamian mooring is an anchoring technique that can be used just about anywhere. If you’re looking to secure your boat in a jam-packed anchorage or in a tide-scoured waterway, a Bahamian moor can be very handy.
When we took our laptop in for repairs in Panama, we knew there was a chance it was irreparable. But we hadn’t thought it might get stolen.
On my old yawl, Iolaire, I always used a mainsail reefing method that seemed odd to guests, but was very fast and worked well. After first casting off the mainsheet, we would hoist the end of the boom a full six feet into air—the depth of the reef—with the topping lift…
Night had fallen several hours earlier. The full moon was bright enough to cast shadows on the deck. But as we reached along through the tropics, an ominous line of black clouds slowly obliterated the stars behind us. A squall line was overrunning us from behind.
Standing at the bow of Eurisko, our Creekmore 34, my heel always scrapes the turnbuckle for the cutter stay when I operate the windlass. For many years I inevitably returned to the cockpit after setting the anchor with a bloody foot where the cotter pin had gouged me.
As warm-water sailors, we do not winterize our boat. However, we do store it out of the water for hurricane season, and as part of our decommissioning procedure we run the engine on the hard to pass fresh water through the raw-water circuit and flush out salt and guard against corrosion.
North America is as big as its waters are varied. Some sailors inhabit a tideless world where 0400 departures to catch the south-going stream through Hell Gate are as foreign as flying to the moon.
“We’re trying to teach women to be more safe and confident on the water,” explained Joan Thayer, co-chair of the conference and president of NWSA, “You don’t have to listen to your husband screaming and yelling, you can do your own thing. You can dock the boat—let him be the bumper person!”
There’s nothing more beautiful than a sunset on the water, but unless you’re doing an overnight passage, you’ve got to pay the price for it
Force 10 winds wrought havoc on 1979 Rolex Fastnet Race, resulting in Britain’s largest peace-time marine rescue effort. 75 boats capsized and 15 sailors were
The new 23-footer from J/Boats is a family daysailer with lively, stable sailing at the forefront.
This Friday, a panel of expert female sailors gather to share hard-won knowledge on the best kit and accessories to have when you’re planning to get offshore.
Reflecting on a pivotal Pacific passage, a sailor considers the nature of her voyages ahead.
Point Nemo is the most remote part of the ocean, marking the exact location where a boat is farthest from land in all directions. From
At the Banderas Bay Regatta, the term cruiser/racer is quite literal.
A disastrous collision forced two boats to return to port at the start of Leg 1 of The Ocean Race Europe.
There’s nothing quite like a little bit of summer sunshine, but when you can’t get it naturally, a nice bright spinnaker will do instead. We
A new Scandinavian deckhouse cruiser is making waves with its smart lines and bluewater capabilities.
