Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is sitting in the lobby of New Yorks Algonquin Hotel. He’s in town to receive an award from the Cruising Club of America, and he’s telling me a story about his encounter with the American astronaut Buzz Aldrin.Hes a marvelous man, brilliant, Sir Robin says. You meet him and you realize that this man was born to be an astronaut. Everything about him, from the
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is sitting in the lobby of New Yorks Algonquin Hotel. He’s in town to receive an award from the Cruising Club of America, and he’s telling me a story about his encounter with the American astronaut Buzz Aldrin.Hes a marvelous man, brilliant, Sir Robin says. You meet him and you realize that this man was born to be an astronaut. Everything about him, from the
The Jewel of Muscat, a reproduction of a 9th century Arab sailing ship, is now refitting in Cochin, Indian, after completing a month-long passage across
In response to recent warnings of an increase in piracy, the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has updated and re-issued its guidelines to yachts contemplating making a passage through the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin.A single-sheet summary of the guidelines has been sent to marina managers, port captains and ships agents in all the places frequented by long-distance sailors
The 60-foot Plastiki, a catamaran built almost entirely of recyclable materials, including 12,500 two-liter soda bottles, has begun a voyage from San Francisco to Sydney, Australia.Voyage organizer David de Rothschild, a long-time environmentalist and heir to the Rothschild banking fortune, built the boat to raise awareness of the damage being caused by plastic garbage in the
The American Sail Training Association (ASTA) is teaming up with the environmental organization Great Lakes United to bring a fleet of international tall ships to Americans heartland.As part of this summers Great Lakes United Tall Ships Challenge 2010, the fleet will race through all five Great Lakes, making port appearances in cities in both the United States and Canada. Specific stops
This week’s Pets on Boats feature comes from Alan and Janet Chaffee, who love bringing their four year-old Vizsla, Zephyr, along with them when they’re cruising between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. We give her credit for adhering to the SAIL wardrobe of an offshore and a Figawi hat…and we’ve all taken a quick snooze on the rail.Thank you to Alan and Janet, and keep the pictures of
When British cruising couple Rachel and Paul Chandler had their boat hijacked and were taken into custody by Somalian pirates four months ago, the sailing community put a halt to visiting the Gulf of Aden and surrounding areas. Now, as news of the couple’s plight has quieted down, NATO is warning sailors of becoming complacent about the still-pervasive possibility of piracy in the area.
The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. Conversations about San Franciscos weather always lead to this Mark Twain quote. Its doubtful whether he ever actually said it, but the sentiment rings true. The San Joaquin Valley, to the east, heats up to scorching temperatures by day and creates low pressure that draws cold air off the Pacific. The low point in the coastal
The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco. Conversations about San Franciscos weather always lead to this Mark Twain quote. Its doubtful whether he ever actually said it, but the sentiment rings true. The San Joaquin Valley, to the east, heats up to scorching temperatures by day and creates low pressure that draws cold air off the Pacific. The low point in the coastal
At the risk of both dating myself and being accused of gross hyperbole, I will say this: it was a bit like 1964 when the
There seems to be no age limit for solo-circumnavigators. Not so long ago we had Californian Jeff Hartjoy set a record for the oldest American
Standard Horizon’s HX890 handheld packs a lot of technology into a small package, including DSC and 66-channel WAAS GPS. It’s available in black or Navy
James Barber Harbour Publishing, $14.95 I’ll bet a filet mignon against a can of Dinty Moore that almost every cruising cook has read and discarded
It had been seven years since I’d taken my Westsail 32, Antares, out for more than an afternoon day sail. Such is the reality when
The history of sailing is replete with examples of boats being repurposed after their initial launch—think of the famed yacht America also doing service as
My goal, I thought, was modest: two weeks from Cyprus to Mykonos and then two more weeks for the return via Santorini and Rhodes. Not
SHORT TACKS YOUNGBLOOD: In a bid to discover and nurture sailing talent for future America’s Cups, a Youth America’s Cup series will see national teams
Q: I have an old 30ft C&C from the mid-80s. It was originally equipped with a conventional spinnaker, but a spinnaker hasn’t been flown from
Building on the success of FLIR’s Raymarine Element HV Series with HyperVision sonar, the Element S line features a top-notch all-weather display, best-in-class speed and
