Destinations

Whitsunday Magic

by Adam Cort, Posted September 30, 2011

Australia’s Whitsunday Islands, on the edge of the Great Barrier Reef just off the Queensland coast, are one of those “bucket list” destinations, known far and wide for great snorkeling, great sailing and some of the best beaches in the world. This past February, I had the opportunity to explore the islands aboard the 41-foot Seawind 1250 catamaran Seawindow, which proved to be the

If Paris Were an Island

by Meredith Laitos, Posted September 28, 2011

"Wait right here. There’s something you must see.” Erique grins, then hurls his muscular figure into a forest so thick he’s invisible within seconds. We hear him wrestling with branches as a light rain falls around us. Erique, our fearless guide, has led us to a ruined sugar mill deep in the hills of Marie Galante, a tiny island south of Guadeloupe. Because of his expertise,

2 by 2

by Dawn Dupree, Posted September 27, 2011

Conventional wisdom has it there can be only one captain on a boat, and that skippering by consensus never works. When it comes down to the wire, one voice must be heard above all others, or chaos will ensue. Well, that’s obviously a male viewpoint. My friend Pip and I share a passion for sailing and adventure, and we’ve done some offshore racing and family cruising, but neither of us had ever

Hitched in a Hurricane

by MacDuff Perkins, Posted September 20, 2011

After a full day of racing, there's nothing I want to do more than put the boat away and hit the rum tent. When asked if I want to spend the night on a boat, what I actually hear is, “Do you want to sleep in a pile of recycling that we keep down in a wet cellar? There’s a bathroom right by your head.” So no, I am not a cruiser.

Seven Days Under Sail in Desolation Sound, British Columbia

by Meredith Laitos, Posted September 12, 2011

It’s difficult to put into words what it’s like to sail in Desolation Sound, British Columbia, but “spectacular” and “breath-taking” are a good start. Located roughly 450 miles north of Seattle, Washington, the sound features abundant sea and wildlife. Along the winding inlets, 1,000-foot waterfalls cascade into 1,000-foot deep seas under bright blue skies. In the late summer, the weather is

Cowboys in The Caribbean

by Meredith Laitos, Posted July 16, 2011

Six weeks before we took off for St. Lucia, my nervous father texted me, “I’m buying some new clothes for the trip. Will I be okay in T-shirts and quick- dry tops?” “Sure!” I replied, “Think about buying some linen, too.” “Linen?” he texted back, “where on my body and where on a boat would I put linen?”

The Young and the Restless

by Meredith Laitos, Posted June 23, 2011

This article originally appeared in the December 2009 issueLook around a skippers’ meeting at a typical regatta and you’ll see all the usual suspects: seasoned salts, their families and a smattering of recent college grads or young adults sampling the sailing culture. The same folks populate most charter bases and destinations, which makes sense, considering the means and

The Chesapeake Bay

by Meredith Laitos, Posted June 13, 2011

When John Smith sailed into the Chesapeake Bay in 1607, he couldn’t have known the precedent he was setting. Ever since that early cruise, the area has been teeming with sailboats—everything from skipjacks dredging for oysters to race boats competing in regattas and flagships strutting their stuff at the United States Sailboat Show. With all of this on-water action, it’s no surprise that a dozen

Where to Charter: Antigua

by David Schmidt, Posted May 11, 2011

You’ll have to go pretty far to find better sailing conditions or a more pleasant Caribbean destination than Antigua. The tradewinds here typically blow out of the east at 15 knots, and the island’s high coastline provides a spectacular backdrop. On shore you’ll find great restaurants, sailor-friendly bars, quaint villages and an abundance of great anchorages.“The four main places that I

Cruising Croatia

by Fred Bagley, Posted March 10, 2011

I'm a meat and potatoes kind of guy, but here I am sampling octopus salad. When I grab it's usually a Bud, but today I'm enjoying a Karlovacko. I usually anchor in monosyllabic places like Gore Bay, but tonight the hook is dropping in Starogradski Zaljev. My chartplotter has always read longitude west of Greenwich, but this screen says 16 degrees east. Where am I?Croatia,