Cruising Grounds

Sailing Minnesota's 10,000 Lakes

by Brett L. Walker, Posted August 10, 2012

During the gloomy winter of 2011, while temperatures in Minneapolis hovered around -10F, my fiancée, Christine, and I made a pledge to sail as many of Minnesota’s lakes as possible in one summer.

Destination Hunters: 10 Great Trailer Sailing Destinations

by Hilary Sharp, Posted July 24, 2012

If happiness is in the journey, then ecstasy is in the destination—just ask a trailer-sailor. Neither long road trips nor unfamiliar waters intimidate these stalwarts, who are always on the lookout for a new place to splash.

What Heat Wave?

by Robby Robinson, Posted August 11, 2008

Yes, temperatures may be high, but there are brisk southeasterlies, warm waters, and the biminiEvening was still very hot. Friends had told us not to miss the unique monastery on Cat Island, and my wife, Carol, seemed eager and able. But as we traipsed the beachfront in the sun, I was waiting for my life to flash before my eyes. Going out in the noonday sun has never seemed

Bocas del Toro: A Cruising Highway

by Ray Jason, Posted May 16, 2013

If 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.

How to Complete an Atlantic Circuit in One Year

by Andy Schell, Posted February 21, 2013

By the time you read this, Kinship, an American-flagged Saga 43, will have made its second Atlantic crossing in little over half a year. As I write, the yacht is staging in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, just off the coast of Morocco.

Learning to Live Aboard and Live Together

by Dennis Mullen, Posted January 30, 2013

On May 20, 2009, we were in St. Marys, Georgia, and it had been raining as hard as it could for 10 straight days. The wind was blowing a steady 30 knots with gusts over 40. Everything was soaked.

Where to…in Washington, DC

by Lisa Gabrielson, Posted January 28, 2013

D.C. may be a city on a swamp, but the Potomac River offers a surprising variety of sailing options that beats the hour-long trip to nearby Annapolis.

Trailer Sailing Lake Huron's North Channel

by Rebecca Waters, Posted February 1, 2007

We cruised by the Strawberry Island Lighthouse in Canada’s North Channel at 7 knots in a brisk 25-knot wind. I was aboard Henk Vanderhulst’s Precision 23, Go Gently, and he, despite his 80 years, was unwilling to risk his reputation for leaving the fleet in his wake.

Tricky Waters: Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake

by David Schmidt, Posted January 3, 2013

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.

Tricky Waters: West Side of the Florida Keys

by David Schmidt, Posted January 2, 2013

“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.