Voyaging

An efficient, clean rainwater catchment isn't just for cruisers venturing into remote areas. While biologically safe, many areas of the U.S. are served by well water that is not chlorinated, high in sulfate that makes it prone to going bad. When stored in the absence of oxygen, the sulfate becomes the preferred oxygen source for microorganisms and hydrogen sulfide is the byproduct. Only .05 parts per million (ppm) sulfide is required to make water distasteful. Even if the water at your next marina is fresh and sweet, filling from an unfamiliar source is always a roll of the dice.

As a family on a sailboat traveling on the Great Loop, our crew of four aboard Fika was a bit out of the ordinary....

Last week, I covered some of the things I suggest you need to think through on the boat before heading out solo. Now, what...

Lots of skippers—in fact probably most—do not want to sail solo and I am the last person to try to encourage them to change...

Earlier this month the press announced the launch of Jeff Bezos’ kazillion dollar sailing yacht, a three-masted, 417-foot schooner filled with a bunch of...

PRAISE FOR X-YACHTS Your report “Stowing Gear on Deck,” in the July 2022 issue had some good tips for line and miscellaneous storage on board....

We were somewhat appalled by the virtual elimination of boats under 40 feet from the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis, MD last fall. We...

It’s clear that the tools we use to measure stability, and to prevent future incidents are still imperfect instruments, as we saw in the fatal WingNuts capsize in 2011. And in the cruising community, where fully equipped ocean going boats hardly resemble the lightly loaded models used to calculate stability ratings, we worry that the picture of stability is again becoming blurred by design trends.

As I enter retirement, my interests are changing. My obsession with serious mountaineering and technical rock climbing has relaxed to easy climbing at the...

It seems like we rarely pass all at once anymore. Instead, we are chipped away in pieces. A bit of nose here, a bit...