In 2016 my wife and I bought a 34-foot Cabo Rico, upgrading from the 27-foot Albin Vega we’d owned for 16 years. While we certainly appreciated the increase in speed, sea keeping and accommodation, gybing the big boat was a real challenge. We have solved that problem with twin boom tackles, one to port, one to starboard. Not only do these let us simply ease the boom over when we gybe — no need to touch the main sheet — but each tackle acts as an instantly available preventer against an accidental gybe. The tackles let us haul down on…

The excitement of being new sailboat owners was wearing off quickly. My wife and I had been aboard our new-to-us 2000 Beneteau Oceanis 381sailboat for only a few hours when we made an unpleasant discovery: the forward and aft head holding tanks were both full; moreover, the blackwater hoses leading away from each tank were solidly sclerotic. Our blackwater plumbing was constipated. Up in the cockpit, the starboard lazarette, where the aft holding tank was mounted, had been torn apart. Fenders, lines, and spare anchors littered the space. My wife and I looked around, dazed. We were on a mooring…

Our Icelandic Temporary Import Permit for the boat was set to expire, which meant either paying stiff import fees for the boat or departing Iceland. As my oldest son was graduating high school and the Alaska charter season was nearly upon us, I had only three weeks to prepare, splash and sail our 50-foot yawl, Empiricus, to Ireland. May was early, but that was our window. I hoped the winter storms were over. Ordinarily, my wife and sailing partner Samantha would have made the passage with me, but she was back home, running our business in Alaska. She would instead…

In the marina it’s relatively simple to manage communications – a cell phone with a subscriber identification module (SIM) card from the local phone company, and perhaps WiFi supplied by the marina management. This makes it easy to talk with folks distant and obtain relevant weather reporting from internet-based sources. The entire equation changes when you head offshore on passage. I race and cruise a 45-foot Morgan 1983 N/M 456 IOR two tonner, an older race boat that was well built for offshore use. I’ve raced singlehanded San Francisco to Hawaii several times and actively cruise the west coast of…

The evolution of satellite data and voice communications for cruising sailors is finally approaching the point where soon we will all be talking, sending email and searching the internet from every corner of the globe with the same ease we enjoy ashore. Let’s take a speculative look ahead at what the satcom situation might look like in the near future. Within the last decade, we have seen the DeLorme InReach and SPOT Satellite Messenger satellite devices enter into service on many ocean-crossing yachts and satphones from Iridium, Globalstar and Inmarsat. These devices offer text-only service (InReach, SPOT) or voice and…

From 1700 to 1834, the British East India Company held a monopoly in the colonization of Asia, competing only with the Dutch East India Company. It was founded in 1600 to trade in the Indian Ocean region, India, Southeast Asia, and China. The East India Company controlled basic commodities: silk, cotton, India dye, sugar, salt, tea, and opium. The tea monopoly was nullified by the king in 1834, opening up the China tea market. It was obvious that the faster ships could arrive in London from China, the higher the price of tea. This realization, along with the development of…

The 36th running of the Puerto Vallarta Race finished in March with 29 boats crossing the finish line out of fleet of 30, with one boat retiring. Ocean Navigator was one of the PV 2022 race sponsors. In terms of fastest overall, Roy P. Disney’s sled Pyewacket 70, set a new monohull course record with a time of 03:04:38:02. The overall winner on corrected time was John Raymont and crew aboard his Ker 51 Fast Exit II. Raymont wrote on the race website, “The goals for the Ker 51 Fast Exit II full-on racer are the same as they were…

If you’re planning a cruise to Canada this summer, be aware that Canadian Hydrographic Service is offering all its products in digital form and for free, a fact that I discovered while planning a cruise to the Bay of Fundy this summer from Maine. Whenever I contemplate sailing to an unfamiliar area I try to buy paper planning charts, and I also look for government sailing directions. Though aimed at a wide range of mariners and not especially recreational, these national publications give an overall picture of a coastal area and its harbors. All the US Sailing Directions are stored…

North Sails is calling it the world’s largest sail. It’s a 28,029-square-foot (2,604-square-meter) A2 spinnaker built by North for the 192-foot (58.6-meter) superyacht Perseus^3. Building the sail was a major effort that required a custom order from Contender Sailcloth, and a team of 10 sailmakers and two graphic installers. The sailmakers labored for more than 15 days to construct the chute, which is roughly the size of 10 tennis courts. North sail designer Glenn Cook explained that the sail was designed with the size of the boat in mind. “Because Perseus^3 is a huge boat… you can’t turn very quickly, and trimming…
When the Newport-Bermuda Race starts on June 17 (photo above shows 2018 start), it will have the second largest fleet of competitors in its history. More than 214 boats have signed up for what will be the 52nd running of the 635-mile race from the mouth of Narragansett Bay to the finish off St. David’s Lighthouse. Only the 2006 centennial race, which saw 265 boats signed on, had a larger fleet than this year’s edition. Co-hosted by the Cruising Club of America and the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, the contest features eight divisions: Double-Handed (22 entries), Finisterre for cruisers (38),…