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tips

How to: Navigate in the Fog

Without question, fog is the biggest reason sailors cite for avoiding the Maine coast in summer, despite the fact that it is otherwise an excellent

Accurately Throw a 50-foot Length of 1/2″ Dock Line

Every crewmember on a boat should know how to coil and accurately throw a 50-foot length of 1/2″ dock line. Skippers who will be asking new crewmembers to throw a dock line to someone on a fuel dock should show them how to do it well before the moment arrives. Throwing a line is not hard to learn, but the skill does need to be practiced. A good throw can save the day during a

Tools for Weather Forecasting

In planning for the upcoming 2016 Pacific Cup—a race that takes sailors from San Francisco to Oahu, Hawaii—I was interested in tools for predicting the

Raster Charts: the New Paper Charts

It’s true that I don’t navigate on paper charts anymore, but I appreciate them and I use their electronic equivalent—raster charts, which are basically an

BoatWorks: Holding Tank Set-up

So, given that holding tanks are a regrettable fact of cruising life, why not make them as easy to deal with as possible?

Four Tactics to Use if You Run Aground

”Uh-oh,” I heard myself say. “We’ve got a problem!”  Running aground was the last thing on my mind that gorgeous July afternoon as I guided Tackful, our “new to us” Catalina Capri 25, into the harbor.

DIY Hardtop Dodger

My ketch Silverheels didn’t have any cockpit canvas when I bought her, just an old two-bow dodger frame. I had visions of installing a hard dodger and bimini, but a lack of time, patience and skill caused me to opt for a hardtop for the dodger frame instead.

Squalls at night are no joke, but good preparation will get you through safely. Photo courtesy of Andy Schell

Storms & Sea Stories

The wind built faster than it was forecasted to. We ate dinner with full sail, close-reaching on a building SSW’ly breeze. Before dark we had

Photo: Lisa Smith Molinari

A Charter Passage Rewritten

Sailing on a schedule is famously a recipe for disaster, but on charter you don’t have much of a choice. The adventure is what you make of it. 

Photo: Zuzana Prochazka

Tahiti Revisited

After a long absence, one sailor finds herself sailing the waters of her youth and contemplating years of change in all its forms.

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May Issue Preview

Spring is in the air and warmer weather is right around the corner. Get ready for the season with SAIL’s adventure issue! Through the Eyes

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