Being prepared for the “what ifs” Issue 97 : Jul/Aug 2014 Decades ago — when I took driver’s education in anticipation of my 16th birthday and in the hope of earning a much-valued driver’s license — t...
Sailing a new boat is a mega adjustment Issue 98: Sept/Oct 2014 Sehnsucht is a German word for yearning and intensely missing something or someone. Standing on the deck of Mystic, our C&C 30, not ...
But we are united under one: sailor Issue 99 : Nov/Dec 2014 I’ve grown weary of the labels that divide us: deniers, alarmists, extremists, centrists, greens, tree-huggers, libertarians, progressives, ...
How sailors measure accomplishments Issue 100: Jan/Feb 2015 Nearby dock neighbors and friends spent a summer with a new-to-them sailboat after being boatless a few years due to health issues. The rein...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Lettuce and cold drinks — the frosting on the cruising cake Issue 105 : Nov/Dec 2015 This past summer, for the first time in 15 years or more, we had ice in Mystic’s icebox. In years past, we cruised ...
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...
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...
Take one tabloid six times a year Issue 108: May/June 2016 When we hang out in our booth at boat shows, subscribers stop to resubscribe, of course, but we’re amazed by the number of times they tell us...
The talent on Good Old Boat’s masthead Issue 109 : Jul/Aug 2016 Back in 1997, Jerry Powlas and I had no idea what we would be creating with this magazine. In nearly 20 years, a community has formed ar...
Sailing with the heirs to our pastime Issue 110: Sept/Oct 2016 This was the summer that will be remembered fondly aboard Mystic for the times we took kids sailing with us. We didn’t go far. In one cas...
Dreams fulfilled, sailors return to an unsteady terra firma Issue 111: Nov/Dec 2016 Odysseus, I was recently reminded, eventually got so fed up with his sea travels that he wanted to walk inland carry...
A latecomer to rowing dips in her oar Issue 113: March/April 2017 The title of Richard Bode’s wildly popular little book says it all: First You Have to Row a Little Boat. I don’t know how many copies ...
Mystic sometimes hosts very special guests Issue 114: May/June 2017 Our Mystic is no ordinary C&C 30. Not only has she been featured in this magazine uncountable times, she’s had two sailing lumin...
. . . to a fresh crew of familiar old hands Issue 115: July/Aug 2017 In early April, Jerry and I experienced “the first day of the rest of our lives.” This followed my waking one morning in late Febru...
A midlife course change has left a legacy in its wake Issue 121: July/Aug 2018 Short of getting married to begin with, starting a sailing magazine 20 years ago was one of the most risky and rewarding ...
Issue 142: Jan/Feb 2022 From the day back in 1998 that Ted Brewer mistook me for an old friend, my husband, Jerry Powlas, and I have had a warm and special relationship with him. At the time there was...
The magazine’s co-founder reflects on the early days and what boaters and farmers have in common Issue 151: July/Aug 2023 Like many Good Old Boat readers, Jerry and I have been accumulating boats for ...
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...
