Sea horses for different courses Issue 101 : Mar/Apr 2015 The first time I heard it, the song brought tears to my eyes. It has had the same effect every time since. It wasn’t meant to be sad; it’s a s...
A life-changing lesson in wind against tide Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 In New England, the seasons change quickly. I found myself rowing my dinghy out to Encore, my 22-foot Columbia Midget Ocean Racer, ...
Great Lakers explore a New Zealand favorite Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 It could have been the gannets. In the few weeks we spent on or near the water in New Zealand, I learned to love these great diving...
Sailing solo and being social Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 We three set off on an autumn day bound for nowhere in particular. Jerry in Raconteur, his race-worthy Ericson 32; Stuart in Over Easy, a well-fo...
Hanging out with cruising legends Issue 102 : May/Jun 2015 When your universe is an island the size of a sailboat, your perspective naturally will be dramatically different from the point of view of c...
Former owners reach out across the years Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 There is a lot to love about sailing. Hal Roth put it simply when he wrote of “the pleasure and the freedom.” Lesser mortals talk abou...
. . . but extra pounds bring peace of mind Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 Toward the end of my summer cruise I happened to anchor for the weekend in Sag Harbor, New York, just east of the breakwater in 12 f...
The inevitable, unpredictable, freshwater fertility frenzy Issue 108: May/June 2016 Each year, along the south shore of Lake Ontario in late April when it’s time for painting and varnishing boats, the...
A first cruise that might have been the last Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 Though it’s not the ocean, Lake Ontario demands a certain amount of respect. My husband, Chris, and I were reminded of this not to...
An oil change that led to a life change Issue 108: May/June 2016 The convergence of boat and boat owner is serendipitous. We expect the new owner to find the boat; sometimes the boat finds the new own...
I want to work sailing into the lives of my great grandchildren (there are 13 of them with 2 more on the way). Unwilling to spend $30,000 apiece for new MC Scows (the most sensible choice given local ...
The ever-narrowing gap twixt cup and lip Issue 103 : Jul/Aug 2015 A search on the Internet would have you believe that the term “slippery slope” has been in use since 1951. In the grimmest of definiti...
A new role brings a fresh identity Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 I renamed my boat. For several years, I’ve made my home aboard a 1967 Irwin 27 . . . just another narrow-beamed mass-produced vintage sloop...
Karma and kind strangers made it happen Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 One desk-bound afternoon in May, as I juggled two phones, carrying two calls to two different area codes in a foreign country, while f...
Familiar waters feel like a fond hug Issue 104 : Sept/Oct 2015 We had just seen a favorite kid play the role of a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz when we untied our docklines in late June for a 75-nautic...
A loyal, uncomplaining member of the crew Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 We lost a treasured sailing companion several years back and sailing hasn’t been quite the same since. By all appearances that August...
A lifelong sailor supports her passion by chartering Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 It was 2004 when I entertained the thought of a boat of my own. I had just completed the exam for USCG Master. When I took...
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...
A daily duty records a lifetime of memories Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 I am sitting in front of the fire doing research for an upcoming ocean passage. I like to study the passages of others. What routes...
A sailor and a snake give each other the shivers Issue 106 : Jan/Feb 2016 Shortly after Speedwell had been relaunched following a few weeks on the hard at Young’s Boatyard in Jones Creek, just off the...
A sailing legend puts a wayward boat’s demise in perspective Issue 106 : Jan/Feb 2016 “Holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.” –Buddha In June 2013, at about...
A former tightwad reflects on shoestring budgets Issue 108: May/June 2016 The pastime of sailing has often been compared to standing in a cold shower while tearing up 20-dollar bills. Yacht ownership ...
A faithful and forgiving foul-weather friend Issue 106 : Jan/Feb 2016 Ellen is on top of me! Our legs are entwined! We are lying against the starboard wall of our cockpit footwell. It is horizontal, p...
How we sail is related to how far we are from the water Issue 106 : Jan/Feb 2016 During the summer sailing season I experienced another one of those revelations that occur from time to time. What I fi...
The alluring emanations of a seagoing home Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 At any auto parts store in the country, you can buy an aerosol can of New Car Smell. Have you ever seen a can of New Boat Smell at y...
Fatigue, false steps, and a child adrift Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 After four days of the most uncomfortable seas in our entire world circumnavigation, we arrived at the island of Great Inagua, Bahamas...
Two-boat-itis arouses ambivalence Issue 107 : Mar/Apr 2016 It is possible to have too much of a good thing. We discovered this in the summer of 2015, the year we had two boats in the water. At once. I...
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...
When the self is inseparable from The Water Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 The Water is always there. The Water forms a continuous thread through my life from my earliest memories to this moment. It has bee...
Canadian sailors broaden their boating skills on England’s canals Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Here we were, four freshwater sailors maneuvering a 65-foot steel narrowboat in pitch darkness through a damp...
