Fourth of July weekend, all the family gathered at Grandpa’s cottage on Harsens Island in Little Muscamoot Bay. The cousins caught fish off the seawall while the uncles grilled burgers and the aunts s...
Father and son answer a long-dormant desire for coastal cruising Issue 127: July/Aug 2019 Since buying back Quelle Vie, the Grampian Classic 31-foot sloop my father bought new in 1966 and I sold in 19...
They quell fear of the unknown with caution and careful planning Issue 127: July/Aug 2019 Many old nautical charts bore the warning “Here Be Dragons” scribed across uncharted regions. When my husband,...
Sailing an obscure board boat had big-boat consequences Issue 127: July/Aug 2019 When writer Nathaniel Philbrick felt stranded in mid-life, he dug out the hull of his old Sunfish, the boat on which he...
Memories make up for the deficiency in dollars recouped Issue 127: July/Aug 2019 Hopefully, by the time this issue goes to print she’ll be gone, out of my life. She’d better be, she’s sitting unattend...
A long-admired boat, finally acquired, revealed its shortcomings Issue 126: May/June 2019 After waiting years, I found the right boat at the right price in the right location. But was she needed to ca...
When winter impounds the keelboat, the trailer-boat heads south toward spring The voice of Elvis Presley is running through my brain once more as I write. It’s the same refrain that played often durin...
Whether for babies or boats, it’s the human condition Issue 126: May/June 2019 When my first daughter was a newborn, I’d have jumped in front of a car to save her life, not because she was my daughter...
Where wind and tide play tag beyond Seal Rocks Issue 126: May/June 2019 The sail hangs limp. The tiller swings free. I let the mainsheet slither out of my fingers to the deck. My wife, Ellen, yawns an...
Good Old Boat contributor Chas Hague turned us on to Sailing Soulianis, and now we want to share. This young couple is squeezing all they can out of life and today that life centers around their good ...
We tend to forget how much GPS, accurate weather forecasting, and modern hull, sail, and communications technologies have improved our ability to get around faster and more safely on the ocean. Oh, an...
Boat projects and pastimes relieve the symptoms of winter withdrawal Issue 125: March/April 2019 For the sailors among us who live in the northern latitudes, the sailing season is woefully short — bar...
A rally cruise for small sailboats could become habit-forming Issue 125: March/April 2019 The best way to start any voyage is by seeking advice, in my case from an old high school friend who was once ...
Could the 2018 Golden Globe Race have been fairer and safer? Issue 125: March/April 2019 As I write this column, four of the five sailors remaining in the 2018 Golden Globe Race have rounded Cape Horn...
A high school sailor questions their value Issue 124: Jan/Feb 2019 My former high school sailing-team coach was always telling us “consistency is key.” What does that even mean? What if consistency fo...
Fulfilling dreams with boats once destined for landfills. Issue 124: Jan/Feb 2019 In an age where the norm is to throw away the old and buy something new, I have learned that thrown-away sailboats can...
Learn to refine it by chasing good old boats around the buoys Issue 124: Jan/Feb 2019 I am not a very skilled sailor. I’ve sailed thousands of miles in all types of weather, from Glacier Bay to Panama...
A ravenous rat unites a community while wreaking havoc on board At our farewell party at the Club Náutico de Sevilla, Spain, I ate something I shouldn’t have, and on returning to Entr’acte, I lay down...
Editor’s note: A Taste of Sail! I love this concept and I know it’s practiced at clubs all over. But if it doesn’t happen in your community, hopefully you’ll be inspired by A Taste of Sail to start so...
Keeping up an older boat pays back in family time, not dollars What is the point of all the effort and expense I put into owning a good old boat? I often find myself asking this question, usually afte...
This project, like so many others, just didn’t go as planned. A surveyor had pointed out the need to replace a failing exhaust hose on Second Star, the 1993 Sabre 362 I’d just bought. Complying ...
The best fishing is behind my boat, a 1967 Morgan. I know this because every time I settle into a new anchorage, one, two, or more fishing boats inevitably appear, only a fish’s throw from my cockpit....
I stood in the cockpit of our boat, my trunks dripping wet from the swim out. Usually being aboard releases a spurt of euphoria within me. If I’m on the boat, most likely I’ll soon be sailing. Instead...
I rush to the Chesapeake Bay to fill up on sailing adventures. I explore the Bay with my boyfriend, Jordan, on Base Camp, our simple and reliable Pearson 31. You too may know the magical moments: smoo...
About 27 years ago, a group of sailors at Yankee Point Marina, off the Rappahannock River in Virginia, decided that a sailboat race in November would make a fine climax to the sailing season. Some of ...
A sailing legend puts a wayward boat’s demise in perspective In June 2013, at about the time the remains of a century-old Lake Superior shipwreck, the freighter Henry B. Smith, were discovered 30 mile...
Excerpts from the logs aboard Mystic, the C&C 30 sailed by Jerry Powlas and Karen Larson. They purchased Mystic in the fall of 1992. Their log began in earnest the summer of 1993. Karen reviewed a...
When I made a career change requiring I move to Philadelphia, I had to decide where to live. My home was more than 100 miles away on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. Despite the relative proximity, I ha...
