I lost at least 25 percent of the storage space in my galley when we installed our watermaker, because the only place it could fit aboard our cramped 37-foot sailboat was directly under the galley sink. Now I’m constantly looking for ways to save space in the galley. Here are a few of my favorites.
Out of 500 organizations, nine were chosen as US Sailing’s Top Community Sailing Centers of 2011. Here’s a look at the winners.
When it comes to my passions, I’d be hard-pressed to choose between sailing and skiing. That’s how I found myself standing on the snow-covered runway of Troms airport, the northernmost city in the world, ski gear in one bag, sailing gear in the other.
Sailors on the lower Great Lakes regard Lake Superior with a mixture of awe, respect and—frankly—fear. Tales of cold and fog, shipwrecks and wind keep most of us from exploring Superior’s shores. But there is another side to this greatest of the Great Lakes, and I found it on a summer cruise aboard my Westsail 32, Antares.
Avatar, a 37-foot Swiss-flagged boat with owners Beat and Lola on board, had set sail from Tahaa, an island a few miles southeast of Bora Bora in French Polynesia. Just a day later, while sailing westward on a comfortable reach, the boat’s helm suddenly became unresponsive.
I’ve been on both sides of the fence when it comes to cruising rallies. My very first transatlantic experiences, way back in 1992, were in two cruising rallies organized by Jimmy Cornell, the man who can rightfully lay claim to having invented the concept when he launched the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), from the Canaries to the West Indies, in 1986.
While Pacific Northwesteners are a laid-back lot, some things are sacrosanct. Take seafood. Sure, we might roll into the marina in an aging Subaru wearing worn-out Birkenstocks, battle-scarred jeans and an old regatta T-shirt, but you can bet your last roll of duct tape we don’t tolerate inferior seafood. Why should we?
The sailors of old may have filled their free time with activities like scrimshaw and fancy knot work. But during a recent yearlong cruise with her family, 8-year-old Emily Ehlers (now 12) stayed busy creating a new card game, which is now being marketed under the name “Mermaid Beach.” A native of Portland, Oregon, Emily, her parents and two brothers sailed their 42-foot Pearson 424,
Most sailors only go aloft when necessary—either to do some kind of repair or maybe to get a better view while picking their way into a strange harbor. For French sailors Franck Rabilier and Delphine Lechifflart, though, messing about in their boat’s rigging is the most natural thing in the world. Currently partway through a circumnavigation, the two acrobats have staged dozens of performances at
With Halloween fast approaching, sailors across the nation are finding ways to combine the holiday with their love of the water. Here are a few family-friendly options that you may want to consider: 1. Haunted Ship Tours Forget haunted houses; let’s talk haunted ships. Many vessels become supernatural hotspots during the Halloween season, offering both guided tours
In recent months, US Sailing, like many organizations, has been taking a closer look at diversity to ensure it’s doing the best job it can
On Tuesday, November 24, US Sailing’s Leadership Forum will present the latest panel discussion in their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion series. This event will focus
Historic anniversaries have always held a special fascination for me, especially if they mark a significant nautical achievement. In 1992, on the 500th anniversary of
Emirates Team New Zealand unveiled its second-generation AC75 yesterday, joining the other three America’s Cup teams with boats in the water. In just over 100
Catalina Yachts has announced the passing of their founder and CEO Frank Butler. Butler was a sailing icon credited with introducing hundreds of thousands of
It’s been an exciting weekend for some of the participants in the Vendée Globe and for others, not so much. The front of the fleet, led by
Video courtesy of the Vendée Globe: for subtitles in English, click the “CC,” subtitles/closed caption button The Vendée Globe fleet took off from Les Sables d’Olonne on Sunday, November
A reefed main and full poled-out Yankee pulled our 56ft, aluminum-hulled cutter, Seal, toward Antarctica. My husband, Hamish, and I were halfway across the Drake
So accustomed are today’s sailors to being able to furl their headsails that we often forget what it was like before this technology became so
A charter isn’t like most other vacations. It takes a good deal of pre-arrival strategizing and loads of onsite tactical execution if it’s to be
