The Essence of Seamanship
June 14, 2013
“Send me an article on the essence of seamanship,” was the editor’s brief. I wonder what you would have included in this article if he had asked you. I can tell you, it isn’t easy.
“Send me an article on the essence of seamanship,” was the editor’s brief. I wonder what you would have included in this article if he had asked you. I can tell you, it isn’t easy.
Walking along the dock at the Sunsail base in Tortola, BVI, one evening in March, I noticed a most peculiar thing. It was changeover day, when one lot of charters departs and the next lot arrives and spends the night in the marina to settle in before heading out the following morning.
The Summer Sailstice is here again! This Saturday, June 22, marks the longest day of the year and therefore, the day with the most possible hours of sunlight during which sailors can enjoy their boats with their fellow sailors.
Three Somali pirates are standing trial on charges of murdering four U.S. yachtsmen in February 2011. Jean and Scott Adam, Bob Riggle and Phyllis Macay were taken hostage at sea when 18 Somali pirates boarded their yacht.
Kedging works best with a long line. Unlike anchoring, it is scope rather than the weight of the ground tackle that provides the holding power.
If you promise not to tell too many people, I’ll let you in on a little cruising secret: Bocas del Toro. Located on the Caribbean coast of Panama near the Costa Rican border, this unspoiled archipelago of nine big islands and many smaller ones creates an inland sea where the breezes are so tranquil the waves rarely exceed knee height. And because Panama is south of the hurricane zone, there is no “season.” You can safely cruise here all year round.
Chris White, when I first meet him, doesn’t seem like a guy who maybe, just maybe, is on the verge of revolutionizing multihull rig design. I’ve met a lot of yacht designers over the years, and I know that’s what many of them would be telling me right now, flat out, without any maybes. But not Chris.
Jimmy Cornell will be adding another rally to his list of sailing accomplishments: The Atlantic Odyssey, which will preface his round-the-world Blue Planet Odyssey.
Gus Hancock, 73, of Chicago, began sailing with his father in an Old Town canoe in 1950. A deserted beach, a tarp and a campfire were their accommodations during early cruises on Barnegat Bay before they garage-built a 16-foot wooden daysailer. Offshore adventures followed, including Newport-Bermuda races and cruises to the Bay of Fundy in the 1960s. In 1970, Gus crewed on a Cal 37 in the Los Angeles to Tahiti Transpac Race and spent the summer cruising Tahiti, the Tuamotus, the Marquesas and Hawaii.
One reason I like sailing is that it is one of the few endeavors in which the concept of individual responsibility still has meaning. It is much easier to blame someone or something else for the consequences of your decisions than to admit any fault on your own part—it goes back as far as Eve and the serpent—but on a small boat you soon run out of things to point your finger at.
To read part 1, click here. When I began repairs on my Santana 27, Shirley Rose, I focused on the major systems rather than cosmetics.
Alec Wilkinson and Hannah White host the World Sailing Awards and announce the Rolex World Sailor of the Year and 11th Hour Racing Sustainability Award.
I was preparing some tea just before heading topside for my watch. Even though it was summertime, the tea was not iced—it was hot. That’s
For all the consolidation in the boatbuilding world in recent years, there remains plenty of variety out there, as can be seen in these two
I suppose it isn’t merely a coincidence that I’ve made significant changes to the sailplans of the last three cruising boats I’ve owned. The first
Chartering and the notion of going “off the beaten path” may sound self-contradictory. Charter companies tend to put bases where demand is high and they
Watching charterers make a run for the last mooring in a cove is fun—and weird. I always wonder why so many would rather try to
11th Hour Racing’s Mālama kicked off the second week of the Transat Jaques Vabre with keel problems, forcing co-skippers Charlie Enright and Pascal Bidégorry to
Award season is upon us, and US Sailing is looking for the next Yachtsman and Yachtswoman of the Year. Established in 1961 by US Sailing
