Destinations

Brand New World

by Adam Cort, Posted November 10, 2010

It quickly became a running joke. “How come we never went snorkeling here before?” my wife, Shelly, would ask. “What a great beach. Why didn’t we go swimming like this the last time we were here?”The answer in each case was exactly the same: we’d been sailing, beating our way up and around St. John, reaching through the trades, reveling in the sheer joy of our boat speed. Not until the sun

Skinny Sailing

by Peter Nielsen, Posted October 11, 2010

Thus begins a time of hunger, but the trade-off is compelling: 10 days of sacrifice for the serious fun of sailing in a legendary Caribbean event with a group of dialed-in high-school sailors and the boat’s skilled and gracious owner, Mike Williams.The 37th annual St. Thomas Rolex International Regatta sees 66 boats racing in seven classes to compete for four Rolex timepieces. Walking into

Barely There

by Peter Nielsen, Posted October 11, 2010

Racing a charter boat is very different from campaigning your Sonar or Etchells or, as in our helmsman Charlie Garrard’s case, your J/105. Some bareboats are pretty tired, and sails can have a short lifespan in boisterous Caribbean conditions. Some of the bigger, heavier boats are cumbersome and slow to tack and trying to sail them well can be a frustrating exercise. Local knowledge of winds and

Does Size Matter?

by Lisa F. Mann, Posted August 11, 2010

I was sitting on the beach in Philipsburg, St. Maarten, in awe of the enormous cruise ships docked there, including the mammoth Oasis of the Seas. A couple sitting in beach chairs next to me asked which ship I was on. I laughed and said, “See that little charter sailboat out there, anchored in front of the cruise ship dock?” They nodded their heads in unison. “That’s the ship I’m on.”

Insider Tips from the BVI

by John Glynn, Posted June 2, 2010

After fairly busy Winter and Spring seasons in the BVI, things have slowed down a bit lately. In the wake of months like February, March, and April, when anchorages are full of families on school holidays, May and June are a time for couples to get together (often with like-minded couples) and charter a boat or go on a sailing vacation at a fraction of the peak-season cost.While May and

The Perfect Off Season

by Meredith Laitos, Posted April 20, 2010

On the first day of our charter we sailed to Cuttyhunk, Massachusetts, a charming island at the tip of the Elizabeth Islands between Vineyard Sound and Buzzard’s Bay. We dinghied ashore and bought fresh cod from a fisherman whose wife had lived on Cuttyhunk her entire life. We moseyed on to a general store, where Jaci, one of our crew, bought the Sunday Times and cut out the crossword

Turkish Delights

by Tom Dove, Posted April 15, 2010

We had already concluded, after only a few days in Istanbul, that we’d never figure out the Turkish language. Then we saw our Sunsail charter boat. The stern carried a French flag and the boat’s name: UAGIZ. My wife, Kathy, and I have dealt with a lot of foreign languages, but this one truly had us scratching our heads. And asking a dockhand didn’t help much. I heard “Oo-gosh,” and

Sail Your Telltales!

by Ryan Jolley, Posted March 3, 2010

I know how to sail, right? At least I thought I did. I mean, I have a copy of Sailing for Dummies in my office, and I have worked at SAIL for 3 years, for Pete’s sake, so I know how to sail, right? That, at least, was my thinking going into a 10-day sailing course with my dad at the Offshore Sailing School. I couldn’t have been more wrong.We arrived at the Mansion House bed-and-breakfast

Safety, Friendship, and the Handling of Messages

by Dawn Dupree, Posted March 2, 2010

When the five of us— Dana, Bird, Pip, Laura and I—left Boston, Massachusetts, last April for a week’s charter in the Abacos, we thought we were in for a week of easy sailing and stress-free sunbathing. We certainly didn’t expect to become part of a sailing community. That hadn’t happened on any of our previous “girls' trip” charters together in St. Martin and the British Virgin Islands. Why would

Cat Country

by Billy Van Der Wal, Posted March 2, 2010

"I can tell you guys are roughing it, but if you need any ice or water, just let us know—we make 400 gallons of water and 400 pounds of ice a day.” To the owner of the 40-foot sportsfisherman anchored next to our 30-foot catamaran at Highborne Cay in the Bahamas, we must have looked pretty desperate. But that was all part of the adventure.“We” were my dad, Onne, me, my 10-year-old brother