Cruising tips

Got a tip? Send it to sailmail@sailmagazine.com Freshwater Flush As warm-water sailors, we do not winterize our boat. However, we do store it out of the water for hurricane season, and as part of our decommissioning procedure, we run the engine on the hard to pass freshwater ...read more

Owning a yacht in charter sounds exotic and enticing, and it may have crossed your mind to give it a try. Maybe you’ve heard stories of good experiences (or bad ones). Maybe you haven’t heard any stories, but you’ve romanticized the idea into the perfect lifestyle. Before you ...read more

An understanding of the effects of set and drift is vital for coastal sailors; it can make the difference between an enjoyable passage or a struggle to reach your destination against a foul current. As an example, let’s plan a Gulf Stream crossing from Miami to Gun Cay, Bahamas. ...read more

Radar remains the single most important collision-avoidance device available to both leisure and commercial sea-going vessels, and now that a clutch of high-performance, instant-on solid-state radar systems have come onto the market, sailors can buy high-definition radar at a ...read more

My first solo offshore passage was marked by sunshine, gentle breezes and easy sailing. But there was nothing gentle about my return to land. Tempestuous head winds stilted my landfall as my little boat crashed through waves. By the time I was nearing the entrance to the ...read more