Safety & Seamanship

A Better Chain Grabber

Like most long-range cruising boats, Calypso is anchored on an all-chain rode. Deep water, windy anchorages and uncertain bottom conditions-including rope-eating coral heads-make chain...

Offshore Log: A Caribbean-built Wind Generator

For the serious cruiser, efficient power generation ranks right up there with an abundant supply of fresh water; without it, life is a real...

Offshore Log:South to Trinidad – A Different Kind of Paradise

In June, Calypso made her way south from Grenada to Trinidad, wrapping up more than six months of cruising in the brilliantly clear, wind-swept...

Barometers: Altitude and Speedtech Tops for Forecasting

It takes very little skill or technology to know that youre in the midst of a storm. It takes considerably more to know that...

Coleman 1000: First of the Truly Portable Generators

Portable power-is it just what you need for extra AC power and battery charging needs, and, if so, what size generator do you really...

Offshore Log:Big Change in the Foretriangle

Although Calypso is rigged as a cutter, we sail her as a sloop. Most of the time we use the genoa, reducing its area...

Offshore Log: Trapped in Paradise

You would think that after a decade of construction and almost two years of full-time cruising, we would have Calypso pretty much finished. Nothing...

A Different Kind of Charter

Last August, our family took a different kind of boating vacation-white-water rafting on Utahs Green River. My wife, Andra, loves the west, and tries...

Vetus, Simpson Lawrence Best Of The Nonskid Add-Ons

Anyone who has spent time on a number of boats knows that there are usually some spots that could use some form of nonskid...

Uninflatable Tenders: Two Alternatives to RIBs & Roll-Ups

Once upon a time, tenders were essentially wooden or fiberglass rowboats. Then came inflatables, which are easier to stow, less likely to damage the...

How Long Do Sails Last?

How long do sails actually last? Sailmakers often say cruising sails last around 10–15 years, but what happens when you discover a sail that’s...

Latest Sailboat Review

Jeanneau 55 Boat Review

This recent sailboat from Jeanneau may as well be a spaceship. They’ve taken all the time-honored designs of a monohull aft cockpit and turned...