A captain's ticket

Ever thought about getting your captain's ticket? Haven't we all? For many recreational mariners, there are some big questions: What are the advantages to getting a license? What are the different levels of license? How do I go about the process?" The advantages of the master's license are obvious for those who make their living at running boats, even in the recreational marine industry — sightseeing, whale-watching, fishing-party ("head") boats, etc. — but what about the recreational sailor? Well, many boat owners who use their boats primarily for pleasure voyaging also occasionally — or perhaps even regularly — seek delivery…
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Nada's re-rigging: finally getting it right

Recently we converted our wooden-sparred ketch Nada to an aluminum-sparred cutter. The idea was to remove weight aloft from what had always been an overly tender boat. However, I didn't get things quite right when I calculated the new location of the mast. It turned out that I moved it too far aft, giving Nada excessive weather helm. We have a relatively small main (303 square feet), and a relatively large genoa (550 square feet), but, even so, any time we set the full main it completely overpowered the headsails and Nada simply rounded up. The boat did so with…
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