Sailboat Cruising

The strong south wind was mild, even though it was blowing in off the frigid Atlantic. Gusts swept over the crags of Allen Island and churned the waters in the anchorage enough to awaken me to the moan of the rigging. I looked up from my bunk and saw a full peach moon perfectly framed in the companionway of my friend’s venerable 1960s-vintage Tartan 27. Evidently, the ship’s cat had a touch of

The strong south wind was mild, even though it was blowing in off the frigid Atlantic. Gusts swept over the crags of Allen Island and churned the waters in the anchorage enough to awaken me to the moan of the rigging. I looked up from my bunk and saw a full peach moon perfectly framed in the companionway of my friend’s venerable 1960s-vintage Tartan 27. Evidently, the ship’s cat had a touch of

Trailer-sailors enjoy small sailboats. Some are open cockpit daysailers. Some are small live-aboard cabin cruisers. All are easy to rig, launch and retrieve—and fun to sail.Every trailer-sailing family with a sailboat loves the idea that they can cruise their dreamboat to windward at 55mph in any direction they wish. Most of these boats can be stored in the family garage. Snowbound

Trailer-sailors enjoy small sailboats. Some are open cockpit daysailers. Some are small live-aboard cabin cruisers. All are easy to rig, launch and retrieve—and fun to sail.Every trailer-sailing family with a sailboat loves the idea that they can cruise their dreamboat to windward at 55mph in any direction they wish. Most of these boats can be stored in the family garage. Snowbound

When your cruise starts with a tornado warning, you can pretty much take it as a given that some ugly surprises lay ahead. And that’s just what I heard during our pre-charter weather check. Suddenly there were warnings for the Chesapeake Bay all along the western shore from Herrington Harbor South, our starting point, right up past Annapolis.Our family has a motto we apply in such

Dawn has finally arrived. Alone in the cockpit, I am quiet, contemplative. My co-captain and young crew slumber on, seemingly unconcerned. Behind me, beyond the hills surrounding Thailand’s Nai Harn Bay, the sun rises. Its beams glow bright, sharpen and focus westward toward the Maldives and the seas beyond—seas we will soon traverse in wonderment and worry.My husband,

Dawn has finally arrived. Alone in the cockpit, I am quiet, contemplative. My co-captain and young crew slumber on, seemingly unconcerned. Behind me, beyond the hills surrounding Thailand’s Nai Harn Bay, the sun rises. Its beams glow bright, sharpen and focus westward toward the Maldives and the seas beyond—seas we will soon traverse in wonderment and worry.My husband,

This article originally appeared in the October 2009 issueWhen I first saw Antares, she was sitting forgotten and forlorn in a boatyard’s back lot. Weeds grew tall around her and her once bright hull was streaked with grime. But something in her lines caught my eye and I knew at once that this Westsail 32 was what I wanted in an offshore cruiser. Gazing up, I was smitten