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.
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
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 snapped this shot on a still July dawn in Shelburne, ...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
. Figure 8 solo sailor Randall Reeves takes advantage of some fantastic weather in the Deep South to bake a loaf of bread for himself. Click here for the complete post. January 2019 ...read more
After completing the European Great Loop on our 1987 40ft Catalac catamaran, Angel Louise, my wife, Sue, and I sailed home to the States and spent two years sailing up and down East coast between Maine and Florida, like migratory waterfowl. Eventually, though, we decided to ...read more
As he awaits the arrival of yet another low, Figure 8 solo voyager Randall Reeves explains how he manages and prepares one of his “four major food groups,” namely, coffee! See complete post… January 2019 ...read more
I often get asked about safety and security on charter, and most of the time I shrug and say it’s a matter of common sense, just like at home. Some places may be more prone to issues than others, but it’s usually a matter of luck—good or bad. For example, you may be warned to ...read more
It’s the 23rd night of our 29-day, 3,000-mile passage from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Hiva Oa in French Polynesia. As I settle into my watch, I try not to be concerned about the secondhand parts I installed last-minute, parts that are now being stressed to their breaking point. ...read more
The kindly man who’d helped me select a new phone that morning slides me a scrap of receipt paper when I approach the Walmart electronics counter for the second time that day. “Are you Megan?” “Megan, 30’s, looking for a phone. Call Terrie. EMERGENCY” the note says. “Now don’t ...read more
Let’s be honest. Daysailing, not cruising the Caribbean or racing solo round-the-world, is what most of us sailors do. Be it on diminutive Stockton Lake in southwest Missouri, on Chesapeake Bay with its 11,000 miles of shoreline or on the chilly waters of Puget Sound, most of us ...read more
As our boat was readied for our Tongan adventure, we sat at Mango, the waterfront restaurant at the Sunsail base. We were relishing the free Wi-Fi when the checkout manager, Raymond, came by our table, stuck his hand out to the nearest graybeard and said, “You must be the ...read more
