The Magic of Landfall
So many of our words and expressions come from the world of ships and sailing: taken aback, by and large, hand over fist, a wide berth, a loose cannon, chock-a-block, and landfall. Landfall, to a seafarer, is the moment…
Author: Ellen Massey Leonard
A circumnavigator’s favorite ocean films
While essentially the entire world was on lockdown and almost all…
Maine’s first ship: Reconstructing the 1607 pinnace Virginia
The coast of Maine is known for boatbuilding. From peapods to superyachts, from lobster boats to Navy ships, pretty much every form of the industry is represented.
An Aussie guide to engine maintenance
Years ago, on our circumnavigation aboard our 38-foot cutter Heretic, we had reached Cairns in northern Australia when we left the boat in a marina and returned to the U.S. to work during the Southern Hemisphere cyclone season.
Sail fast!
No one likes sailing to a schedule. It’s stressful; you never know if the weather will cooperate, or for that matter if the boat will cooperate.
Managing seasickness
The joke about seasickness is that it has three stages: feeling terrible, worried you might die and worried you won’t die.
Seasickness prevention and alleviation
Everyone is different, so everyone has his or her own best ways to prevent and alleviate seasickness.
An emergency watermaker
Volvo Ocean Race boats are all at the cutting edge of sailing technology, right up to what the crew eat and drink.
Falling back on an emergency water maker
When their main desalinator broke, these Volvo Ocean Race sailors broke out the emergency unit
The foundations of good seamanship
In the 18th and 19th centuries, sailors who lived long, unscathed lives were thought to be blessed with luck.
Second non-stop solo circumnavigation attempt
On Sept. 2, 2013, Canadian sailor Glenn Wakefield departed his native Victoria, B.C., on his second attempt at a solo non-stop circumnavigation, westward against the prevailing winds of the Roaring Forties.
Staying fit on a voyage
Voyaging is a healthy enterprise. The air at sea is unpolluted; the watch routine ensures that sailors spend more time outside than their landlocked friends; food can sometimes come fresh from the sea or, especially in the tropics, fresh from tree and vine. Regular, structured exercise, however, remains a problem.
Victoria Classic Boat Festival
Eighty sail and power boats arrived on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, over Labor Day weekend for the 36th annual Victoria Classic Boat Festival.
The avian pleasures of voyaging
Voyaging under sail has many pleasures, but a major reward is experiencing the beauty of the natural world.
Voyager weighs in on tourist development for Yap
To the editor: The Pacific basin is an iconic tourist destination, and for good reason. Any voyager who has spent time there can attest to its beauty and diversity: the Tuamotus’ palm-fringed atolls, Fiji’s lush rainforests, and New Zealand’s vertiginous…
A shaft rebuild afloat
Many sailors describe voyaging as “fixing boats in exotic places.” More often than we’d like to admit, this is accurate.
A Panamanian souvenir
The most painful illness I suffered on our voyage was the most difficult to cure.
Striking a balance
Almost all potential voyagers want to strike a balance between affordability and the size of the boat they want.
