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
To celebrate the 250th signing of the Declaration of Independence, the international tall ship fleet is headed stateside.
A marine transformer with fun at its core.
The Cal 40 Nicole wins the St. David’s Lighthouse overall title, while Black Jack 100 takes line honors just shy of a course record. On the course: stunning scenery and a range of conditions. Off it: a scoring drama.
Good skippers manage the boat; great skippers manage the tension.
A spritely little cat that holds its own in a blow.
Analog alarms offer important feedback about how the boat is doing.
A friendly club boat with serious potential.
The lure of early-season boating is a beast with two heads.
A new four part docuseries details the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild campaign to defend the Route du Rhum title, available now on Youtube.
Eight Bells: Charlie Dalin
