Life lessons from an early affair Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 There was no name on her hull when I found her, so I called her Frankly Scarlett in reference to the closing line of Gone With The Wind. That...
An enchanting ruse brings a wife on board Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 I’ve never chosen the right boat for me. I’ve always let the right boat choose me. In the November 2015 issue of Good Old Boat, I des...
Sister ships for sailing brothers Issue 113: March/April 2017 Brothers Peter and David Herring came to sailing early. They grew up near what is now Cambridge, Ontario, close to a few small lakes. Thei...
A fellow sailor’s life viewed with a little envy Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 I was shocked when I saw her standing there . . . stark . . . alone . . . desolate . . . a solitary silhouette against a blazi...
A chilly morning at the edge of autumn foretells the longer journey. Issue 131: March/April 2020 Sunlight streaming through the port-side window into my V-berth burns my eyes open. Last night’s howlin...
Wherein loose lips end up sailing ships, that is, a venerable fishing schooner. Issue 140: Sept/Oct 2021 Decades into my successful marriage, I know that compromise is requisite to happiness. Which ex...
When a fellow sailor is in trouble, you help—no questions asked. Issue 147: Nov/Dec 2022 It has been more than 10 years since that warm summer day when I first saw a new boat at our yacht club, moored...
Ruminations on sailing in years past drive home a fundamental truth Issue 151: July/Aug 2023 I’m climbing down the ladder from the stern of Affinity and pulling the tarp zipper as I descend, perhaps f...
In high school I was a wide receiver and punt returner on the football team, so I ran with the ball a lot. At the time, the team’s coach had a drill he made me and other members of the offense do ever...
Wherein a foolhardy notion and a puff of wind nearly end in disaster. Issue 137: March/April 2021 Get a bunch of sailors gathered around a table at the club and they’ll tell stories. Sometimes the sto...
Issue 135: Nov/Dec 2020 At Highland Yacht Club in Toronto, two of the last three years’ sailing seasons were cut short by months due to high water levels. It was the same for all Lake Ontario sailors....
Thanks to a little help from her friends, a good old boat finds a new paramour. Issue 134: Sept/Oct 2020 I didn’t really know Nat. Nothing beyond a friendly smile and hello as we passed each ot...
Jimmy Buffett, the novelist. Who knew? Well, apparently a lot of people. After all, this is his third book for adult readers, including his autobiography, A Pirate Looks at Forty. But, in a way, Jimmy...
Is The Tears of Dark Water a novel about sailing? It begins on the water. Daniel Parker and his 18-year-old son, Quentin, are well-weathered Americans long into a circumnavigation aboard their ...
A lifetime’s love of sailing was inspired by a most inauspicious early voyage. Issue 132: May/June 2020 The curious thing is the way it creeps up on you. One day you’re asking the old salts at the clu...
On November 24th, 1995 the sturdy 47-foot Compass, Melinda Lee, sailed in 35-knot gusts and 8-foot seas at the end of a long passage and only 20-odd miles from her destination in New Zealand. Mike and...
Mary McKSchmidt was like many idealistic young people of the 1970s. She eschewed business and material possessions. She was going to travel, write, seek adventure, and live free. And for a short time,...
2017 was a disastrous sailing season for the boaters of the lower Great Lakes. At launch time in late April, the water was several feet higher than normal. Owners donned rubber boots to wade through s...
The Salty Bard makes magical moments. For those who sail there are magic moments; and not all of them come with the canvas flying. While the swoosh of a hull slicing through white caps can quicken th...
I suppose every sailor has experienced it —those frustrating times when it seems the gods conspire to keep him or her at the dock. For me it had been several weeks of lawns to cut, gutters to clean, d...