You know you are in for a different kind of cruising experience when a) the guide book says: Do not go ashore onto either of the Koh Liang islands. They are sites for the collection of swallows nests to make birds nest soup. They are patrolled by local Thais armed with automatic weapons; and b) the charter base manager (ours was Andy Middleton, who runs the Sunsail base in Langkawi, Malaysia)
Many Great Lakes sailors make the pilgrimage to Mackinac Island at the junction of lakes Michigan and Huron. But those who want real adventure head north to the St. Marys River, the border between the United States and Canada, and check out the twin towns of Sault St. Marie, which lie in Michigan and Ontario and are known collectively as The Soo.The St. Marys River drains Lake Superior
January means various things to a sailor. If you live in the southern regions it probably means that you don’t sail as often as you might in, say, milder months like December or March. If you are a snowbound northerner then you are almost certainly counting the weeks until the cover comes off the boat and life can get back to what you wish was normal.The only consolation about cold winters
So its goodbye to 2010, a year that was a vast improvement over its predecessor in almost every respect. In looking back I find few causes for complaint, which is a rare thing indeed for a sailor in the Northeast.A suspiciously warm spring meant that the essential boat projects got done and the non-essential ones got half done; already I was way up on 2009.Spring merged into summer
I feel like you have to start somewhere, says Ryan Breymaier. For the 35 year-old Annapolis native, that somewhere is Barcelona, Spain, followed by 25,000 nautical miles around the globe through some of the planets most treacherous waters, with just one other soul aboard.On December 31, 2010 Breymaier began the second edition of the Barcelona World Race (BWR), sailing with Boris
It is a warm moonless night in northwest Florida. A whiff of late spring wisteria wafts across the lake. In the distance, cicadas drone their night music. Overhead, every star in the galaxy is shining. Their reflections on the black waters of northwest Floridas Lake Seminole create the illusion that we are sailing through outer space. In truth we are ghosting along on my 16-foot Hobie Cat, soft
Waiting to Inhale A decade ago, while thumbing through a cooking magazine, a photo of a bicycle pump caught my eye. It turned out to be a vacuum pump that could do the same thing as a big, boxy kitchen vacuum sealer costing more than $100. But it was small, hand-operated and cost just $20. I researched the Pump-N-Seal food saver online and then ordered one. It has been an
And there it is, the December issue of SAIL, the first issue in the history of the magazine that does not bear the name Charles E. Mason III on the masthead. Chip as his oldest friends call him, was a founding editor. Issue number one hit the stands in February, 1970 and I do mean hit. There is a whole generation of sailors
Pirate attacks on sailing yachts have been much in the news lately. The good news is that bluewater cruisers Paul and Rachel Chandler were finally released unharmed on November 14 after being held hostage by a Somali pirate gang for 388 days. The
Laura Zekoll, 46, was lost and is now presumed dead after a Jeanneau 46DS named Rule 62 that was sailing in the Caribbean 1500 rally between Hampton, Virginia, and Tortola, BVI, foundered on a reef in the Bahamas on Saturday, November 13. Details are still sketchy, but the most recent published report has it that
One of the neatest things about sailing offshore is the other lifeforms we encounter. We smile when we see flying fish skimming over the surface
The Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournaments offer something for every member of your crew. Exceptional fishing, fun times with family, old friends and new.
Spyderco’s Tusk knife combines a blade and marlinspike to create a multitool perfect for marine use.
I was born in 1955, and although I was a tad young to actually follow the first Observer Single-Handed Transatlantic Race, I grew up in
The world’s quietest and most energy-efficient watermakers.
The concept of “daysailer” has grown ever broader over the years. These days the label can be pasted on a boat as small and simple
Be seen with the brightest SOS Distress Lights Available
While plenty of professional sports have been sidelined by the pandemic, there’s still one assured safe option for spectators and competitors alike: solo ocean racing.
Octopus Auto Pilot Drive Systems, Wireless Steering, Power Steering, Motor Brackets and Safe-Skeg
