The first time I saw a spinnaker I was only a few years old. It was flying on the bow of a 35ft foot cruiser off the coast of Maine. A few years later, my father agreed to set the kite on our 50ft Hinckley, a rare concession.
During the summer sailing season I had kept Radiant Beam close to my favorite cruising grounds near Pamlico Sound in North Carolina. As November approached, however, it was time to bring the boat back to her homeport in Wilmington.
Growing up in a distinguished sailing family has its advantages, but as Sheila McCurdy discovered, nothing trumps experience. Her late father, Jim McCurdy (of McCurdy & Rhodes Naval Architects), loved racing, but mainly sailed offshore with clients until he designed Selkie, the family’s 38-foot sloop, in 1986.
Given the current state of the economy, it’s no wonder new boat sales are suffering. Buying a new sailboat is a considerable financial commitment that can be difficult to justify, but when you see the boat you really want, it’s hard to deny yourself!
Few can enjoy the inner passages of the Florida Keys quite like diehard thin-water sailors, such as Ida Little and her husband aboard Thorfinn.
During the gloomy winter of 2011, while temperatures in Minneapolis hovered around -10F, my fiancée, Christine, and I made a pledge to sail as many of Minnesota’s lakes as possible in one summer.
These days, instead of sailing on a small boat with college kids playing hooky from their summer jobs, I’m often on a slightly more comfortable boat with friends playing hooky from slightly more stressful jobs. But what hasn’t changed is that Edgartown remains the quintessential summer cruising destination.
Surely everyone who has sailed offshore has experienced that same elevation of the spirit, an upwelling of the life force, or whatever you choose to call it; you’d have to be dead inside not to.
If you were thinking you’d run out of places to sail, think again. As of May 25, 2012 the inland waterways of Russia are now open to foreign-flagged vessels for recreational purposes.
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.
We spend so much time with the finished product that it’s easy to gloss over how much work and innovation goes into making a single
A few years ago, Jeanneau set about the business of revolutionizing its storied Sun Odyssey line when it introduced its SO 490 and 440 models,
One thing nobody really expected when the pandemic hit last year was skyrocketing boat sales. Power and sailboats alike have sold like hotcakes in all
Everything offshore is subject to wear-and-tear, including the head of your furling genoa. Indeed, between UV exposure and the working loads that come as a
US Sailing has announced that Paul Cayard will be the new Executive Director of U.S. Olympic Sailing. Cayard, best known for his seven America’s Cup
I didn’t come up with the title to this story on my own. I actually saw it on a T-shirt in downtown Bayfield, Wisconsin. At
Of all the superpowers today’s sailors wield thanks to modern electronics, being able to sail in fog with impunity is certainly one of the most
Less than 48 hours after the final race of the 36th America’s Cup, the Brits have challenged Emirates Team New Zealand to another go. “The
Bali Catspace This is not a racing boat. However, if you want comfort afloat and plenty of room for your sailing friends, the aptly named
UNDERPERFORMING SOLAR Q: I have a pair of solar panels on my aft arch feeding to a solar voltage regulator and then feeding my bank
