Is it really good for the soul? Issue 73 : Jul/Aug 2010 I have a confession to make. I have booked a passage to Alaska on a cruise ship. I’m confessing because for years I’ve been saying to anyone wit...
Employ virtual dock hands to control your boat’s bow Issue 73 : Jul/Aug 2010 At our marina, the finger piers are aligned north and south but the winds are generally easterly or westerly. On most days,...
Cruisers pull together for the dear departed Issue 73 : Jul/Aug 2010 The brassy summer sun beat down on the tiny Turkish port of Marmaris. Tom, the crusty old Brit, sat sweating under his cockpit awni...
The ins and outs and aftermath Issue 73 : Jul/Aug 2010 Flash — BANG! My eyes flew open. I had been sound asleep, so it took me a second to orient myself. I was sleeping in the V-berth, the hatch above...
What advertising and operating manuals don’t tell you Issue 73 : Jul/Aug 2010 Retrofitting your good old boat with a new GPS receiver? A GPS chart plotter? Beware. Whatever the salesman told you, what...
Listening to the lovely sound of no engine Issue 73 : Jul/Aug 2010 “If you don’t mind, let’s not start the engine yet,” Jim said as we sailed across a tide rip between Sucia Island and Patos Island St...
The point of going is to be gone Issue 73 : Jul/Aug 2010 This summer — for the first time in my adult life — I will have a 12-week vacation. By the time you read this issue, Jerry and I will have just...
It doesn’t get any better than this Issue 74 : Sept/Oct 2010 Like most boats in the north, mine spends the winter hauled out and bundled up, gathering snowdrifts and growing icicles. To feed my sailin...
It’s just a friendly get-together — they say Issue 74 : Sept/Oct 2010 The silver lure soared into the soft late afternoon sunlight before splashing into the quiet water of Mattituck Harbor, Long Islan...
She’s the best crew a man could hope for Issue 74 : Sept/Oct 2010 Too many stories about my sailing exploits leave out, or at least don’t give enough credit to, my first mate, Jac. Here is a girl who,...
Keep your onboard supply fresh and pure Issue 74 : Sept/Oct 2010 Keeping the water in a sailboat’s tanks tasting fresh is often a challenge and, if a tank goes bad, the consequences can be outright aw...
Cutting your dreamboat down to size Issue 74 : Sept/Oct 2010 Many of us fall victim to the allure of the big boat at the end of the dock. A tear wells up as we sight along the acres of the teak deckin...
What floats your boat Issue 74 : Sept/Oct 2010 Boats are designed to float. This might seem to be an unnatural act, especially for hulls that are made of aluminum, steel, concrete, or fiberglass. Thes...
When cruising, our days begin with tea and the forecast Issue 74 : Sept/Oct 2010 One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as we cruise is the difference between weather reports for the landed gentry an...
A well-thumbed book has been a faithful companion Issue 75 : Nov/Dec 2010 I was fossicking around in a used-book store the other day when I came across a copy of A Manual for Small Yachts, by R. D. Gr...
A bag of rice resuscitates a $300 lifeline Issue 75 : Nov/Dec 2010 Because we had two children in college in the States as we continued to roam the Caribbean, my husband, Dave, bought me an iPod touch...
Code words let Mars understand Venus Issue 75 : Nov/Dec 2010 The question comes up a lot. Not from sailing friends, they are mostly too polite, but landlubbing friends don’t mind asking, “When you’ve ...
A chance encounter opens a window in time Issue 75 : Nov/Dec 2010 A few years before I was born, my parents bought a 26-foot Sparkman & Stephens-designed New Horizon sailboat built by Ray Green. T...
A well-loved sailboat sparks a romance Issue 75 : Nov/Dec 2010 The town of Annapolis has a reputation as a drinking town with a sailing problem. If that’s true, I would add that many of the sailboats ...
How do boats get our attention? Issue 75 : Nov/Dec 2010 One of these days, scientists will announce a study that shows boats excrete pheromones and that certain groups of humans are drawn irresistibly...
Independence is the best gift for a youth Issue 76 : Jan/Feb 2011 If our priorities define us, then my husband, Dave, and I are irresponsible, capricious, and more fond of boats than money. A few Nove...
Joint ownership provided a path to the water Issue 76 : Jan/Feb 2011 Picnicking one day in a park in Oxford, Maryland, on Chesapeake Bay, we watched sailboats glide into a wooded anchorage. That did i...
A schooner’s crew won’t be dock-bound by a defunct engine Issue 76 : Jan/Feb 2011 Sailing a heavy fixed-keel boat without an engine could be viewed as a challenge and a good opportunity to improve one...
As fast as physics allows Issue 76 : Jan/Feb 2011 Although it’s somewhat of a misnomer, the term “displacement hull” is used in reference to a boat whose displacement at speed is the same as its displ...
Phil Rhodes inspired a generation of yacht designers, including Bob Perry Issue 76 : Jan/Feb 2011 It was about 50 years ago. I was probably 15 years old. I had started sailing and I was studying mecha...
Seafaring women earn the right to lament Issue 76 : Jan/Feb 2011 Not all women believe they were meant to go to sea. I’m convinced, in fact, that the vast majority are sure that women are not meant to...
Even where it’s endless summer, the weather rings the changes Issue 77 : Mar/Apr 2011 My son’s education is lacking. Now in his ninth year of homeschooling, he’s earning A grades in physics, Spanish I...
Consignment stores match good old parts to new old boats Issue 77 : Mar/Apr 2011 Let’s say a part on your boat needs to be replaced. Perhaps the fuel gauge isn’t working. You poke around online for a ...
A boat provides a happy mix of activities and security Issue 77 : Mar/Apr 2011 Naming a boat is serious business. When we upgraded from a decrepit 1972 Cal 20 to our second boat, a 1976 27-foot O’Day,...
A sailor and photographer recalls a dream assignment Issue 77 : Mar/Apr 2011 Every once in a while a boat comes along that captures your heartstrings. Thankfully, it usually happens at a dock or marin...
