
Captain Credentials
by Meredith Laitos, Posted May 17, 2013
Dear SAIL,
Your charter stories in the March issue had my mind traveling afar, and I’d like to be a bareboat captain. How does a charter company know that someone is sufficiently qualified or experienced to charter its craft? Some sailors are extremely capable, but have no specific schooling or credentials.
Charles Hammond, Kingston, MA
FULL STORY

Tight and Light
by Adam Cort, Posted May 17, 2013At the 2011 METS boating industry show, SAIL discovered a French-made product called the “Constrictor,” which we recognized with a Pittman Innovation Award in 2012.
FULL STORY

A Sea Dog's Tale
by Adam Cort, Posted May 17, 2013I’ve always thought people who took their dogs long-distance cruising were more than a little crazy. But after reading Peter Muilenburg’s A Sea Dog’s Tale: The True Story of a Small Dog on a Big Ocean, I’m no longer so sure.
FULL STORY

SAIL's Tip of the Week
by Peter Nielsen, Posted May 16, 2013When you have to make a docking line fast to a ring or bollard, a round turn and two half hitches is better than a bowline. Why? Because you can untie the round turn and two half hitches when the line is under load; try that with a bowline and you’ll soon be reaching for a knife. As a fringe benefit, the round turn also resists chafe.
FULL STORY

Bocas del Toro: A Cruising Highway
by Ray Jason, Posted May 16, 2013If you promise not to tell too many people, I’ll let you in on a little cruising secret: Bocas del Toro. Located on the Caribbean coast of Panama near the Costa Rican border, this unspoiled archipelago of nine big islands and many smaller ones creates an inland sea where the breezes are so tranquil the waves rarely exceed knee height. And because Panama is south of the hurricane zone, there is no “season.” You can safely cruise here all year round.
FULL STORY
Facnor's flat deck furler on a J/111



























