Experience: An Unexpected Breeze
March 20, 2023
My wife, Randy, and I sail the Catalina 320, Downtime, out of Mamaroneck, New York, at the western end of Long Island Sound among such
My wife, Randy, and I sail the Catalina 320, Downtime, out of Mamaroneck, New York, at the western end of Long Island Sound among such
Sometime this year, construction is expected to begin on a 704-megawatt offshore wind farm called Revolution Wind in southern New England waters. Inevitably with a
I got seasick the second day out. My stomach had been rolling ever since we’d slipped out of Howe Sound that morning, but we were all
To begin You don’t need to know much about how a piston engine works in order to drive a car. You get in, turn on the engine, shift into gear, step on the gas, and off you go. In a sailboat, though, you play a far more active role in harnessing the energy that propels you forward. You can get
When I moved my new Nicholson 32 sloop, Alibi of Bridham, from a marina to a mooring this summer I also had to rethink my power requirements, since the change meant severing my umbilical to the grid. Although I had a powerful (read: noisy) wind generator as an alternative power source, along with a small photovoltaic (PV) solar array to keep the engine’s cranking battery topped up when the wind dies, I’ve since decided to lose the noisy windmill and go wholly solar.
I had to find a way to charge the batteries in my absence, which meant wind or solar power. I toyed with the idea of installing a wind generator, but it seemed like too much expense and hassle; and, lacking a bimini, there was nowhere convenient to place a solar panel where it wouldn’t be either in the shadow of the rig or in the way of the crew…
When sailing close to the coast it often seems that NOAA’s wind forecasts are maddeningly inaccurate. How could NOAA get it so wrong?
The first time I tried to pick up a mooring singlehanded in a stiff breeze, I approached from dead downwind in the usual manner and stopped the boat with the pickup buoy right where I wanted it.
It’s not as easy as pressing a button, but once you learn to use a windvane you’ll never get stuck hand-steering again.
Maintenance-free and weatherproof, Ganz Eco-energy semi-flexible solar panels provide clean, quiet, reliable power offshore
Why one sailor went back in time one hundred years to find the perfect boat.
Low-power ideas for keeping your boat well-ventilated in the dog days of summer.
When sailing on a micro budget, the ability to troubleshoot is a priceless skill, as Chuck Hawley discovered on one shakedown cruise back in 1979.
Here’s what you can look forward to while you’re relaxing on the boat this weekend with your new issue of SAIL.
A recent post titled Why I Cringe Over Female-Only Sailing Events caused a stir online. After sailing in last week’s Boston Harbor Ladies Challenge, Editor-in-Chief Lydia Mullan weighs in.
250 boats squared off last week on Lake Michigan’s famous 333-mile course and found the full spectrum of race conditions awaiting them.
After the 4th of July festivities in New York City, the international tallship fleet continued its tour of the eastern seaboard, heading up to Boston.
In the days of e-readers, one wonders how long the pulpy pleasure of the boatyard book swap will last.
Concern over the implementation of Forecast-Time Correction Factor (F-TCF) scoring rocked this year’s Newport Bermuda Race after it was discovered that rating discrepancies impacted the
You may have noticed that you’ve heard from us less frequently this week. SAIL’s editor Lydia Mullan discusses changes to the newsletter.
