In the Northeast the arrival of spring brings much anticipated preparations for the start of the sailing season. In my case, this includes trailering Windseeker south to Island Heights in New Jersey where I have a yard commission the boat.
Like most sailors, I have accumulated a wide range of boat-related clothing over the years. And also—like most sailors, I suspect—I still possess almost all of it.
I love this time of year. In Wisconsin, April is when people prep boats to go back in the water. It has been a long, hard winter of reliving last year’s races at the bar, reading magazine stories about other people sailing in warmer weather, visiting ocean racing websites and yearning. And now it’s time for the northern sailor’s rite of spring: getting ready to launch.
If I’m racing, I sail to win. If I’m cruising, I sail to relax. The sailing bug bit me 20 years ago, and I’ve never recovered.
“Would you like to sail one?” asked Dale Denning one Saturday back in 1980, as Peg and I stood admiring some gorgeous little sailing dinghies sitting by the side of the road.
They say every cruiser turns into a racer when there’s another boat in the vicinity. I’m not so sure that’s true.
About four hours after our departure, approximately 27 miles from Fort Pierce, when we were well into the Stream, we heard a thump somewhere forward on the hull.
During the “treasures of the bilge” segment of the cruisers’ radio net in Bocos del Toro, Panama, someone named Felix offered a metal sextant for sale. Two minutes later I was racing out to his handsome ketch Boisterous.
I hate this time of year. Some of my friends wax rhapsodic about crisp fall air, the changing of the leaves and the coming holidays. But all I can see at the end of October is the end of the sailing season and the long winter stretching out before me.
“Bad news, honey,” my husband, Leif, told me, “We own a sailboat.” That’s how I found out about the Cape Dory Typhoon Weekender.
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.
The fire alarm went off with a wild shriek at 0300, about 10 minutes after I’d turned the engine on to start motoring through a
Bali has announced the launch of the new Bali 5.2 just a year after the launch of the 5.8, and a first look suggests 5.2 takes lessons from her big sister and fits them skillfully into a more approachable LOA.
The Magenta Project seeks applicants for its 2025-26 mentorship program.
Cottage Park Yacht Club hits a milestone: one million dollars raised for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
Perfect places to drop the hook are hard to come by. Have a few different anchoring techniques in your back pocket to make the best of it.
We recently ran a sail design trivia question about an outdated sail called the “blooper.” It stumped a good number of you who guessed that
