Follow my journey as I consider if becoming a liveaboard and living on a 26 foot sailboat year round is the the right move I made the mistake of telling my co-workers that I was thinking of moving onto a boat. Since my colleagues are in the insurance industry, they asked questions related to two...
The story of a boy’s love of the ocean and sailing experiences inspired him to build a 60-foot, classically styled, sailing-yacht for future young sailors to experience Boating stories have a special place in history. Great heroes who built ships and fleets would set sail on perilous adventures and live to tell tales of the...
Ventura 23 sailboat is a trailer-sailor designed to meet needs of both younger and older generation sailors with amenities usually seen on a larger boat With approximately 4.1 million U.S. participants last year alone, sailing is undoubtedly a beloved hobby for all generations. However, approximately 6.8 million Americans use assistive devices like canes to aid...
Winches are often used in and left exposed to the elements, including salt water spray. Routine maintenance will keep your equipment working as intended and ready when you need it. [HOW-TO VIDEO] On any given sailboat, there are at least 2 or 3 winches and on larger boats, there can be many more. I have...
Maintaining the rigging on a national historic landmark is hard work – but worth it! The Claud W. Somers is a member of the Chesapeake Bay’s historic skipjack fleet, a dwindling number of old wooden oyster boats numbering a mere 24 hulls still sailing. The majority of these are owned by non-profits, with less than...
Winter is a good time to do a thorough walk-around inspection of your boat’s hull, bottom and appendages for maintenance, repair or attention Since I have owned Bay Poet, a Hunter 410 sloop, I have always had her hauled out during the winter. In addition to the crewed charters that I offer, my boat is also...
Coordinating captain, trip leader, skipper and crew activities for a smooth sailing flotilla cruise In my introductory article on flotillas, I discussed the potential benefits of flotilla cruises and some of the high-level planning issues – bow to stern. Flotillas – cruising with more than one boat – can be a great way to explore a...
Pacific Northwest live aboard sailors share their experiences spending the winter in the boatyard at Canoe Cove Marina in Southern Vancouver Island We began our trans-Pacific voyage on board our 45ft sailboat Distant Drummer back in June 2015. A year and 10,000NM later we arrived in Sitka, Alaska after a memorable voyage through French Polynesia and...
A comprehensive how-to guide to planning a sailing cruise with more than one boat on the journey In previous articles about chartering, I have discussed several towns on the Chesapeake from which you might start a charter and a number of my favorite gunkhole destinations. Switching gears a bit, I’d like to begin to discuss flotilla...
Charter locations and sailing destinations to explore on the Chesapeake Bay I am unapologetically a sailor. There is something so peaceful and calming about being on a boat under sail with the sunshine on my shoulders and the wind on the beam. And there is nothing more relaxing than sailing on the Chesapeake Bay. I...
Top sailing destinations on the Chesapeake Bay where you can relax, explore and drop anchor while avoiding crowded anchorages on the bay If you read national sailing publications, you might come to the conclusion that the Holy Grail of chartering is the Caribbean. However, the Chesapeake Bay is a beautiful, marvelous, and occasionally challenging venue for...
Seamanship – for me – means practicing skills that make me nervous and challenge my abilities to handle a sailboat I’ve been watching the US Coast Guard’s efforts to build a skills-based standard for recreational boat operation for some time and with mild skepticism. The effort was started in June of 2011 as the National...
The love of being on the water and the constant search for new challenges brings a Chesapeake Bay sailor to an experience that he had not quite expected Sometimes I think I came to my sailing life in reverse. What I mean is that I knew from the age of fifteen that I was drawn...
Historic Chesapeake Bay Schooner sets sail in annual Great Chesapeake Bay Schooner Race Being a licensed Captain is a great source of pride to me. I have enjoyed working with my clients as well as pursuing other commercial opportunities like relief captain jobs on various schooners, water taxi and tow boat jobs, and tour boat and ferry...