SAIL.SailMagazine

For many cruisers with simple electrical needs, a laptop computer can be the biggest power hog onboard. On our Creekmore 34, Eurisko, we need a laptop not only for my writing, but for our three homeschoolers.

They say every cruiser turns into a racer when there’s another boat in the vicinity. I’m not so sure that’s true.

When I was 11, my Dad, his buddies and I sailed Wind Dancer, his C&C 37, from Long Island Sound to Chesapeake Bay. It was my second offshore passage.

“I always put the fear of God into people that this is the world’s third-largest barrier reef,” says Capt. Joe Dyll of the western Florida Keys, which have long been one of his favorite cruising grounds.

It’s always nice to have dedicated spots on deck or in the cockpit for stowing winch handles. But the various pre-made molded-plastic or fancy fabric holders out there can be surprisingly costly, when all you really need is a short length of PVC pipe.