Sail Magazine

by Tor Pinney

Tor Pinney has logged 150,000 miles under sail. He is the author of Ready for Sea: How to Outfit the Modern Cruising Sailboat

Isla Beata

by Tor Pinney, Posted September 20, 2012

I was singlehanding, bound for Ile à Vache, Haiti, 200 miles west along the south coast of Hispañola. Any break along the way would be welcome. So when I cleared out of the Dominican Republic in Las Salinas, I planned to stop over at remote Isla Beata...

Can Pigs Swim?

by Tor Pinney, Posted July 10, 2012

Can pigs swim? In the Exumas they can. The Bahamian island of Big Majors Spot in the Exumas is home to a small herd of free-range domestic pigs.

Mediterranean Mooring Secrets Revealed

by Tor Pinney, Posted May 14, 2012

Mediterranean mooring—docking a boat end-on to a quay, as opposed to tying up alongside—is a common practice in many parts of the world, especially in non-tidal waters. Any skipper setting sail for foreign ports will find docking this way is often mandatory, as it saves dock space and protects boats from wake damage.

Dodging Sea Monsters

by Tor Pinney, Posted May 9, 2011

Most commercial ships are run by competent professional crews. Still, close encounters with yachts are not uncommon. Every once in a while a ship arrives in port with a mast wedged in her anchor—and no one knows how it got there.To an offshore sailor a large merchant vessel can seem like a modern-day sea monster, capable of obliterating a yacht and spitting out the scraps