Sailboat Cruising

When Hurricane Omar passed between St. Martin and St. Croix in mid-October last year, we found ourselves right in the middle of it. I like to think we are a little different from many of the other cruisers who were in St. Croix’s Christiansted Harbor when the storm went through. My husband, Dave, and I have raised our three boys on our Creekmore-designed 34-foot cutter, Eurisko. We always sail

Shortly before midnight on July 25, 1956, two ocean liners, the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm, collided off the New England coast and 50 people lost their lives. The events that led to the collision remain poorly understood, but it is known that both ships were using radar. The tragedy is often referred to as history’s first radar-assisted collision.Radar is, of course, an important part

The boat ghosts up the calm river. Grassy banks punctuated by eucalyptus and California bay trees reach off to vineyard-serried hillocks backed by golden-and-oak hills.A cool breeze and the briefest of soft, late spring rain showers sweep over you with a wave of aromas. You close your eyes and breathe deeply. You smell tangy trees and fresh cut grass…is there anise, too? Dark, damp

The boat ghosts up the calm river. Grassy banks punctuated by eucalyptus and California bay trees reach off to vineyard-serried hillocks backed by golden-and-oak hills.A cool breeze and the briefest of soft, late spring rain showers sweep over you with a wave of aromas. You close your eyes and breathe deeply. You smell tangy trees and fresh cut grass…is there anise, too? Dark, damp

By now everyone who wasn’t hiding out in a cave during the last boat-show season has heard of Beneteau’s new Dock & Go drive system. Introduced on a new sailboat, the Sense 50, that was specifically designed to accommodate the system, Dock & Go wowed crowds at shows from Annapolis to Miami with its uncanny ability to spin a monohull like a top on a spindle and drive it sideways to a dock. With

Last spring, I was snorkeling near Sandy Spit in the BVI, entranced by the fish meandering through the coral heads. My snorkeling buddy gestured enthusiastically at a particularly bright betafish and together we zoomed to it like moths to a flame, unaware that it was headed for shallow water. Suddenly, a wave crashed over us, and we realized we were in trouble. Wave followed

Many sailors dream of voyages to tropic shores and swaying palms, but Great Lakes sailors need look no farther than their backyards for some of the world’s best cruising. The Great Lakes are great indeed, stretching over 1,100 miles from eastern Lake Ontario to Duluth, Minnesota, on Lake Superior. I’ve sailed these waters for much of my life, most recently aboard my Westsail 32 Antares. Each of