A series of bad decisions leads to a potentially fatal situation Issue 154: Jan/Feb 2024 Squalls were building rapidly as Jo Beth rumbled along under engine power, some 10 miles southeast of the entra...
Hitting a Tanker in the Dark Issue 153: Nov/Dec 2023 Sailing through the night is a phenomenal experience. I have had some of my best and worst moments in the inky black of night — ghosting, coasting,...
The challenges and rewards of 48 days sailing the Florida Keys Issue 152: Sept/Oct 2023 It took hours to rig, pack, and launch the boat. We suffered in the heat and humidity, sweating through our too-...
A desert native goes cruising and takes a leap into unfamiliar territory Issue 151: July/Aug 2023 The story starts in Kanab, Utah, where we bought a sailboat. Nobody thinks of sailboats when they thin...
Sitting in the cockpit together, my wife Jill and I watched daylight slowly appear over the Washington coast as our boys, Porter and Magnus, slept soundly in the gentle swell. It was good to be out on...
To rest or wait out weather, heaving to remains a tried and true tactic at sea Issue 150: May/June 2023 Some seafaring traditions are worth carrying on, especially those based on knowledge and techniq...
This Old Boat author Don Casey used the Coronado 35 as the poster child for ugly sailboats. Hollywood must not read such books. In two of the 10-episodes of The Night Agent currently on Netflix, a Cor...
For six-time circumnavigator Webb Chiles, small boats are bluewater revelations. Issue 145: July/Aug 2022 I have owned three great boats, and two of them were small: Chidiock Tichborne, an 18-foot Dra...
Size evokes no envy when sailing is its own reward My wife, Jen, and I were settling down in one of our favorite anchorages after a hard but rewarding day of sailing. We’d broken out the margaritas an...
If one Bristol Channel Cutter fulfilled their sailing dreams, two could only be better. Issue 145: July/Aug 2022 “This poor, poor boat,” I thought, looking at the forlorn Bristol Channel Cutter tied t...
We’ve all heard it: “The two happiest days in a boat owner’s life are the day you buy the boat and the day you sell the boat!” While the idiom can be overused, it does apply to many sailors. I c...
Four friends and a refit rocket tackle the raucous Race to Alaska. Issue 136: Jan/Feb 2021 Gripping the tiller in my left hand and the coaming in my right, I spin my head from side to side, desperate ...
The fluffy snow that fell a few days ago has gone slushy. The wet cold soaks my gloves and stings my hands as I clean off the dinghy’s gunwales before turning her over on my front yard. My palms...
If your idea of sailing fun involves tacking rapidly into a strong wind, grinding away at your genoa sheets and crashing through the waves as you lead the way to the next buoy, read no more. This arti...
Baranof Island’s wild beauty and singular towns open a summer-long journey through Southeast Alaska. Issue 141: Nov/Dec 2021 Two hundred miles from the nearest point of land, it’s 11 p.m. on the summe...
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...
One of the ironies of being the editor of a sailing magazine is that you rarely get to sail. That is, the duties involved with the day-to-day management of a sailing magazine—or any magazine, for that...
Years ago I owned an O’Day 25 on which my family and I explored the coast of British Columbia. Our travels took us from the far reaches of the Salish Sea all the way up to Desolation Sound and beyond,...
A mission to meet a circumnavigating friend takes an unexpected turn. Issue 138: May/June 2021 Bill Norrie had been singlehanding Pixie, his Bristol Channel Cutter 28, for nearly 90 days, sailing from...
Love ruins everything, until the right one comes along. Issue 138: May/June 2021 I grew up with a sailboat because I have a big brother. Steve is five years older than me with a can-do attitude and an...
After a long hiatus, the first sail is more than sweet. Issue 138: May/June 2021 Six a.m. I tiptoe out of the quiet house, pausing only when I reach the water’s edge. Buzzards Bay broadens like the ba...
Vineyard hopping through Long Island Sound makes for a mellow shakedown cruise. Issue 137: March/April 2021 It had been three years since we had last sailed through Long Island Sound. To be honest, it...
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...
Anxiety can scuttle everyone’s time aboard. Here’s how to understand it and help. Issue 137: March/April 2021 My husband and I were sailing our 1974 Olympic Adventure 47 slow and easy down...
Circumnavigating Vancouver Island provides stiff sailing, natural wonders, and kind locals. Issue 135: Nov/Dec 2020 Years ago, after decades of sailing the Salish Sea, my wife, Carey, and I decided we...
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....
Even a small boat can teach big lessons when it comes to abrupt, discontinuous change. Issue 135: Nov/Dec 2020 Ellen and I have owned our 12-foot catboat, Finn, for 16 years. We love how the working c...
“There you are! Are you out for a sail, or out for a swim?” With these thoughtful words, a fellow club member sailed by us in his Laser. We were indeed swimming, next to my swamped open-hulled ...
Sam rushed on deck to meet us as we rowed across the still starlit patch of water between our two boats. “Hey, good to see you two. When’d you get back? How was your delivery job? Climb on board and m...
Refined to its elements, a day of sailing becomes miraculous. Issue 134: Sept/Oct 2020 Wind and physics create the lift, sucking me along, the same dynamics as flight. One man, two sails, three sheets...
