Advertisement

Sailing Gear

Sailing Powder: Not Just for Racers

How to put this delicately? Although the warm summer sun can feel great on your face, all that heat can wreak havoc on your nether regions. Enter Ice Bear Sailing Powder…

West Marine Trysail Jacket and Bibs

For years West Marine has been offering its own line of branded foul-weather gear, and its Trysail jacket and bibs serve as an excellent example of what to look for in bluewater cruising gear.

MLX Double-Braid Cordage

MLX double-braid cordage features a blended high-modulus Innegra-S and Dyneema core for strength and a polyester cover for durability. The result is a lightweight affordable rope with high strength and low stretch.

Serious Floating Shades

Stuff going over the side is one of the hazards of sailing, but these new “Floater” polarized photochromic shades from Australia’s Barz Optics will stay on the water’s surface, even in rough conditions.

Modular Rogue Backpack

Harken’s waterproof Rogue backpack is constructed from thermoplastic polyurethane-impregnated nylon, which resists abrasion, stains and UV radiation.

Back On Board: Testing the Latest Man-Overboard Gear

Much has changed since the staff at SAIL last conducted live-action MOB tests a decade ago. Gear for both locating and recovering persons lost overboard has been refined and improved, as was dramatically demonstrated last summer in the Fastnet Race.

iPhone Case Bottle Opener

Words fail us. We are awestruck in the presence of such sublime genius. An iPhone case that doubles as a bottle opener, the Opena does the best job of wedding two disparate products since that one guy got his chocolate mixed up in the other guy’s peanut butter.

Solar and Wind-Powered Kayak

The Torqeedo-powered Sea Eagle inflatable kayak takes pocket cruising to a whole new level. The combination of a 1hp Torqeedo Ultralight 403 electric motor, 23-watt PowerFilm flexible solar panel, Sea Eagle QuikSail and, of course, paddles provides the range and flexibility you need to go just about anywhere.

Snuggle Up Afloat

Why hang out in a hammock when you can cuddle up in a Cacoon? As a practical matter, a Cacoon only requires a single attachment point—think a halyard or topping lift, something that is obviously pretty easy to find on a sailboat.

The Ultimate Water Shorts

It’s not often that a pair of shorts really grabs our attention, but these shorts from Liquid Flow did just that—and then some. Made from a super-soft, quick-dry micro-fiber material, they can be used as swim trunks in the afternoon and then worn out on the town at night.

00-LEAD-NielsenStorm-02

The Ill Wind

I had no warning of impending disaster. The morning sky was deep blue, and the fronds of the palm trees on Belize’s beautiful South Water

HarkenLabTour

A Visit to the Harken Lab

Ever wonder how the gear we put on our boats gets tested before we ever use it? If it’s Harken gear, that would be the

Golden-Globe-Challenge

Global Solo Challenge

The inaugural Global Solo Challenge has been an ocean race like no other. From a sizable percentage of American sailors to a pursuit start that

unhappy.00

Unhappy Boat Kids

Jan. 11/2024: Here’s one of the more interesting things that has happened to me since the publication of The Boy Who Fell to Shore, my

02-L1010495byNickWillis-(1)

At the Helm: Whale Watch

In little over a week, Mia and I head to Falken, 59° North’s Farr 65, for the last passage of 2023. The boat is docked

00-LEAD-XC47_SAILING_29-copy

New Boat Review: X-Yachts Xc 47

A 20- to 30-knot northerly wind and temps hovering around 39°F on the edge of the Baltic Sea in November are not generally considered prime

Allcard1

A Certain Sense of Adventure

Clare Thompson did not fall into sailing in the usual way. She was in her early 20s in the mid-1960s, an unwilling patient in a

Advertisement
Advertisement