Whether you’re looking for insights into the best cruising grounds of the East Coast, West Coast, Caribbean or Great Lakes, or the latest in tips and techniques for doing everything aboard from set the anchor to fix your engine, recover a man-overboard victim or trim your sails, our editors and contributors have the answers.
Back when I was a young man, sailing back and forth across the North Atlantic in an old fiberglass sailboat, it seemed fairly obvious to me how all that was wrong in the world might be set right. Everyone should be issued a boat at birth! Or so I declared to any who would listen ...read more
Depending on where you are, Puget Sound can look no bigger than a mountainous version of the Intracoastal Waterway. That’s what I thought when I first laid eyes on it from the lighthouse at Mukilteo Park on a sunny day last July. Then I went to the top of the iconic Space Needle ...read more
Steve greeted my boyfriend, Phillip, and me as soon as we tied Plaintiff’s Rest, our 1985 Niagara 35, up to his dock on one of the Berry Islands in the Bahamas. He was tall, cheerful and clad in a hodge-podge of clothes one might wear to paint a house: oversized, grungy and old. ...read more
We dog owners understand the general expectations of ourselves in public places, like picking up after Fido and keeping him on a leash. There are, however, certain places where additional unspoken rules or expectations may apply—as in harbors or marinas. If you sail with your ...read more
Are you out there sailing, cruising and living the sailing life? If so, we’d love to see it. Send your sailing photos to sailmail@sailmagazine.com And don’t forget to sign up for our free eNewsletter. Check back for updates! I have been a member of the Wayzata Yacht Club for more ...read more
It was the summer of 1952. The Eisenhower/Stevenson race was in full swing. I was in my junior year, studying naval architecture at the University of Michigan and had been offered a summer job at Jakobson Shipyard in Oyster Bay, Long Island. Practical experience is very useful ...read more
We had left San Diego in early November and spent a month sailing down the west coast of Baja California on board Distant Drummer, our Liberty 458 sloop. After a week in Cabo San Lucas, a brash and brassy town at the southern tip of the Baja Peninsula where we provisioned the ...read more
Two separate racing fleets were streaming into the docks and a party was in full swing at the head of Marseille’s inner harbor. A group of bearded musicians cranked out lively jazz tunes while throngs of sailors jostled around the drinks and snack tables. Sipping a rather good ...read more
Are you really safer tethered to your boat? It’s something I’ve wondered about ever since I first started sailing offshore. The received wisdom is you should always wear a harness, preferably one with an inflatable life vest, and always be clipped in while underway. I’ve always ...read more
It would be hard to imagine a more secure spot than the Sunsail base on the outskirts of the beachside community of Placencia, Belize. The entire marina is protected by a robust seawall with a channel scarcely a few boatlengths across. It’s also located far enough up Placencia ...read more
Last April, my wife, Marjorie, and I decided to take our Tartan 4100, Meri, north to Maryland from her winter home in Hobe Sound, Florida. This, in turn, meant deciding whether to stay in the “Ditch” for the duration or go offshore part of the way. Although we had both been ...read more
Half a century ago I signed on as a deckhand aboard a 90-ton trading ketch that had recently been sold out of service in the Danish Baltic Sea. She had made her way to the South Coast of England, where I was based and was refitting for a voyage to the Caribbean. The old girl was ...read more
What is it that makes someone want to sail alone and nonstop around the world? I’m just an average guy from Petosky, Michigan, who learned to sail on his dad’s Hobie 16. When I first started sailing offshore in my 20s, mostly working as crew on delivery trips, I found the same ...read more
Going North—and West Crack! Crunch! I woke with a start to the sound of ice scraping the hull of our 60ft sailboat, Dogbark. In a drowsy daze, I hobbled out of the small cabin I was sharing with my little sister. As I emerged into the cockpit, I swiveled my head, searching for ...read more
A number of sailors have cruised Labrador, Greenland, Patagonia, South Georgia, Antarctica, Alaska and the Northwest Passage. Some have wintered-over in high latitudes. But fewer have deliberately undertaken winter cruises in high latitudes simply for the pleasures the season ...read more
Just because some crew are crazy doesn’t mean they all are It is a big leap of faith, heading offshore on a sailboat. Even if you are experienced and well prepared, you commend yourself to the elements when setting sail and are taking a chance they will not be kind to you. You ...read more
“Jib alone is never a good idea,” our sailing guru Jerry told me. (Everyone should have a sailing guru). “Why’s that?” I asked. “It’s so much easier than putting up the main.” “You can only sail off the wind,” he said. “No upwind capability. What happens if someone falls ...read more
My first exposure to Nigel Calder, same as most people, was through reading his great marine technical bible, The Boatowner’s Mechanical and Electrical Manual. I studied it constantly during the years I spent as a liveaboard cruiser during the 1990s and referred to it simply as ...read more
The dark is alive when you are surrounded by water. Black is tinted blue and silver, and sky meets surf with electricity and the lapping sounds of silence. Inside our 36ft catamaran, moored off Cooper Island in the BVI, the raw nature outside, just now settling down from a late ...read more
It seems that we all struggle to make our start in life, searching for something that we would enjoy doing, something that not only challenges us today but will stay that way year after year, all the time giving great rewards along the way. Most things we are introduced to early ...read more
“Ready to take the dink ashore?” Never had those words invoked as much anxiety as when my husband, Jeff, and I first moved to the Pacific Coast. Why? Because we had exactly zero experience with dinghy surf landings, and the possibility of being flipped upside down along with our ...read more
Many practicing and aspiring cruisers are familiar with the crew of the Delos; they have gained internet stardom via their Youtube video chronicles of the cruising lifestyle. This past summer, the Delos team—Brian, Karin, Brady, Alex and Kiril—joined my wife, Mia, photographer ...read more
If you’re curious what it’s like sailing where the water spins counterclockwise down the drain, I recommend a trip to the Whitsunday Islands in Queensland, Northeastern Australia. Not only do these wonderfully remote and tropical islands provide incredible cruising options, but ...read more
Is it really possible to teach someone how to steer a sailboat? Lord knows I’ve tried, but I’m still not sure I know the answer to this question. Yes, it is possible to convey certain basic concepts. You can, for example, explain how a tiller works: “Just push it in the ...read more
