Over the course of the past 56 issues, we’ve brought you “Windshifts,” a reflective collection of pieces written by a host of different sailors on sailing, sailboats and life lived among them. However, in 2014, we’ll be taking a slightly different tack with “Waterlines,” a column in which Amy Schaefer and Paul VanDevelder take turns using this last-page space to fill you in on their unique whereabouts and reflections.
When an offshore earthquake near Japan resulted in a destructive tsunami in March 2011, I, along with sailors everywhere, held my breath. My eyes were glued to the Internet. I watched videos of massive volumes of water rushing ashore, displacing families, killing people and destroying villages.
Following two unsuccessful attempts to circumnavigate the globe non-stop under sail, 70-year-old British sailor Jeanne Socrates finally succeeded in July of this year, completing the journey in 259 days and becoming the oldest woman in history to do so.
It all began when I was eight. The bilge pump on our wooden skiff was running nonstop, and my mother had been pointing this out for some time before my father finally peeked under the hatch and saw water slopping around just inches below the battery.
The last time I went frostbiting it was February in Chicago, and it was freezing. Not far offshore, ice floes loomed and just inshore, a layer of frost covered the hardened beaches of Lake Michigan, which bordered the black ice on Lake Shore Drive.
Prop walk, the tendency of a turning propeller to push a boat’s stern sideways, can be a real nuisance when maneuvering under power. Or it can be your biggest ally. The trick is to understand it, anticipate it, and make it work for you.
Congratulations on your decision to host a visiting cruiser in your home. I’m sure you’re excited to reconnect and hear stories from his or her exotic life afloat. Be warned, though, that even a short time away from the cruising life can be difficult for a cruiser.
For the first time in its 27-year history, World Cruising Club (WCC) has expanded its storied Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) by adding a new, parallel route: the ARC+.
With the wind gusting into the low 20s and some very ominous-looking clouds on the horizon, I knew it was time to get back to dry land. I was out sailing with my two good friends, John and Jack, and we had crossed most of Great Bear Lake in no time.
There’s no longer any reason to rely on frozen water to cool your food and beverages
I’m sure many readers have heard of the dinghy test, in which it’s considered important you be able to admire your own boat as you’re
The January 14 volcanic eruption in Tonga not only triggered tsunami surges in coastal communities as far away as Japan and Canada, these same surges
The 13th edition of the RORC Caribbean 600 kicked off this morning in Antigua. The fleet that was 75 boats strong with competitors representing 32
For fans of the Vendée Globe, the “Boss Boat” and its skipper Alex Thomson have long been favorites. In a race so heavily dominated by
In episode seven of The Nav Station’s Celestial Navigation series, learn how to use the sight reduction tables in order to find calculated altitude and
After a year off due to Covid-19, the Miami International Boat Show starts February 16 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. The show will run
As many readers may have noticed, last year SAIL’s annual Pittman Awards were one of the many things that had to be cancelled as a
The first map of the Gulf Stream, which Benjamin Franklin helped create by tapping the combined knowledge of the whalemen and merchant captains of his
In the sixth episode of The Nav Station’s Celestial Navigation series, you’ll learn the parts of a sextant, how to check and correct its errors,
Pre-cook your meals for the first two days. Reef early. Don’t drink too much the night before departure. Don’t expect to poop until the third
