Voyaging

When an anchored boat spins, the anchor chain twists, and the anchor can come up backward. One solution is an anchor swivel, but failures with some poor designs are a concern-a lovely stainless swivel on one of our test boats had an interior crack that became visible only when disassembled. And as we found in our most recent test, many swivels arent very effective at reducing twist due to the inherent friction in the swivel.(see How Well Do Swivels Reduce Twist, Practical Sailor March 2016 online).

In the process of our ongoing investigation on the effect of time and wind gusts on anchor setting and holding capacity, we performed limited testing at short scope and couldnt help but notice that holding capacity at short scope varied greatly. When recovering the test anchors, some anchors would lift out of the bottom while we were pulling the dinghy over to them, while others required heroic efforts even when the rode was nearly vertical.

The world is chock-a-block full of stunning, postcard-worthy cruising destinations. But pleasant aesthetics and comfort didn't guide my good friend Bruce Maunsell. Instead, he...

In our ongoing study of ways to compare, and hopefully improve the way our anchors set, weve learned that it takes time and slow, delayed setting to make best advantage of very soft mud. However, firm sand and weeds can have the opposite character-making it hard for the anchor to penetrate.

“Is everything okay? Your EPIRB was set off.” It’s a call no sailor wants to receive. For Josh Verstoep and Sierra Grant, that call set off...

We are in the midst of a yachting weather forecasting and awareness revolution. With satellite internet technology today’s sailors have never had so much...

I often ask myself the point of all the effort and expense of owning a well-aged sailboat. This usually happens after I crack a...

La Solitaire du Figaro Paprec is a unique, solo, multi-stage annual racing format created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and Jean-Michel Barrault. In 2025, for...

Sailing the west coast of British Columbia over the years has opened our eyes to the beauty of this cruising ground. From Washington State...

Each spring, boats along Mexico’s Pacific Coast start making their summer plans. If they aren’t crossing the Pacific, most are deciding whether to head...