Reviving a derelict dory sparked a young boy’s passion Issue 79: July/Aug 2011 We rescued Hee Haw from death at the hands of a boatyard employee armed with a can of gasoline and a match. She was a 16-...
Under cover of snow, new skills emerge Issue 78 : May/Jun 2011 It’s been a tough winter for folks from the Pacific to the Atlantic. In Minnesota, we had snow on the ground before Thanksgiving (the har...
A sailboat sailing? . . . What’s the problem? Issue 80 : Sept/Oct 2011 Our sanity has been questioned on more than one occasion. If you pack three sons and two parents on a 34-foot boat and sail away,...
When boats leave the safety of the drawing board Issue 79: July/Aug 2011 In my more than 50 years designing yachts, I’ve had my share of problems with owners and with boatbuilders, including raw amate...
A captain of fantasy puts to sea at last Issue 80 : Sept/Oct 2011 In the summer of 2007, I would not have been able to tell you the difference between a bowline and a reef knot. Flash forward one year...
Rallying to the call of the Baja Ha-Ha Issue 80 : Sept/Oct 2011 Richard Spindler, founding editor of California’s regional sailing magazine, Latitude 38, has led his annual Baja Ha-Ha rally from San D...
Mystic’s mad scientist is at work again Issue 80 : Sept/Oct 2011 Strange noises have emanated from our basement ever since we moved in 20 years ago. I’ll hear high-pitched whines, odd buzzings and whi...
Sailing creates sensory addiction Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 What is it about sailing that so completely captures our hearts, captivates our souls, and enchants us with its magic? I believe this enchantm...
Good old racing on Tampa Bay Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Every sailor knows the place to be in January is on a modern high-tech sailboat at Key West Race Week. While that may be true for the hired guns on...
Boat parades are a seasonal spectacle Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Spectacular water parades are held up and down the coasts of North America every Thanksgiving and Christmas season. These family parades w...
The alternative doesn’t bear thinking about . . . or does it? Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 Our friend Harold has always hated powerboats. Now pushing 70, he’s been a sailor his entire life and has distinct...
But life ashore afterward is stifling Issue 81 : Nov/Dec 2011 The docklines are once again tied and my feet plod once more on solid ground. My body is back in port, but I don’t know if my sailor’s sou...
Compassion for the lost transcends species Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 Once, for two nights and a day, in the middle of the Sargasso Sea, I made an unlikely friendship with a castaway bird. He was no bigg...
Coming to an anchorage near you Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 During a 2010 cruise to Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver, we found ourselves anchored for two days in a tree. Not tied to a tree, bu...
A project boat helps a young man set his life’s course Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 For as long as I can remember, I was scheming to buy my first sailboat. I spent many hours of my childhood poring over cl...
Classic classes are given new life Issue 83: March/April 2012 A few paces down the first dock, I was captivated by a bright red hull. Radio Flyer is long and lean with the beautiful overhangs commonly...
What’s in a name? Issue 82 : Jan/Feb 2012 It’s hard to believe Good Old Boat is approaching its 15th birthday. It was 15 years ago this past fall that Jerry and I sat on Mystic in the Canadian Slate I...
An enjoyable voyage needs no destination Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 For some people, the term “going nowhere” is an oxymoron, impossible to fathom. You’ve seen them, walking along staring at their BlackB...
A family business makes old boats good again Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 Cayuga Lake, located in upstate New York’s Finger Lakes Region, is home to a large and active fleet of good old boats based in the ...
Mother Nature has no respect for job schedules Issue 83: March/April 2012 If you spend enough time on the water, you’ll have stories to tell: good and bad, hair-raising or hilarious. It comes with the...
A nesting hard dinghy that’s enduring and endearing Issue 83: March/April 2012 Many years before we cast off our docklines, sailed out the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and watched Cape Flattery disappear a...
Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 Editor’s Note: We hope you enjoy these excerpts from Jule Miller’s Voyages in Desperate Times. It is a historically based novel about the Coast Guard Picket Fleet, aka the Hool...
Warm up those earbuds and chill . . . Issue 83: March/April 2012 About this time of year, the northern sailors among us get a bit weary of winter. We start attending boat shows. Even shows that don’t ...
We are the yarns we spin Issue 84 : May/Jun 2012 My husband is a masterful storyteller. One of his best collections of tales records years of racing Flying Scots in a fleet in which the 19-foot Scots ...
In a sailors’ paradise, why do engines rule? Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Soon after slipping our mooring at The Baths, Virgin Gorda, with our shoddy outboard pushing just enough to weave our way out of th...
Tragedy underscores propane’s dark side Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 A sailing friend called with stunning news: an explosion had just destroyed a boat moored in the marina where our good old boat, Sirius,...
An author prevails against life’s headwinds Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Before dawn each day, William C. Hammond makes his way to the writing studio of his rambling colonial house near downtown Minneapoli...
Drawn to the irresistible rhythm of Polynesia Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 We pull into Hanavave Bay on Fatu Hiva after a long afternoon of sailing. The jagged mountains and deep valleys of the Marquesas I...
An inexpensive boat proves to be a treasure Issue 85 : Jul/Aug 2012 Many times in my life I have found more than I was looking for. That was the case with the boat my wife, Sharon, and I are now cruis...
Cruisers rediscover sailing on home waters in a small boat Issue 86: Sept/Oct 2012 It is a lovely summer day in the Gulf Islands off Canada’s west coast as our 25-footer pokes her bow out of the marin...
