Storm Tactics

Halloween Storm, Choosing an Anchorage—Part 1

by on November 4, 2011 { 10 comments }
Halloween Storm, Choosing an Anchorage—Part 1
As I write, the still gale force remnants of the Halloween Storm of 2011 are howling in the rigging as Morgan’s Cloud tugs at her anchor and bucks to the chop here in Great Salt Pond at Block Island. I sometimes call cruising, particularly when tired and crotchety, “death by a thousand decisions”. And deciding [...]

Clear The Decks For Action

by on February 25, 2011 { 19 comments }
Clear The Decks For Action
I’m a big time fan of the Aubrey/Maturin series about the days of sailing warships. As often mentioned in these books, the best captains, the ones that brought their ships home in one piece and vanquished their foes at sea, were holy terrors for clear decks. Times have changed but the sea has not and [...]

Making Life Easier—Storm Jib

by on February 20, 2011 { 12 comments }
Making Life Easier—Storm Jib
Once a year we like to entertain our neighbours by hoisting our storm jib whilst we’re alongside. Not much new to be learned from it, but it does force us to get it out of the bag and give it a thorough check over for any signs of chafe or other damage. We have a [...]

Storm Tactics, Learning From The Best

by on September 22, 2010 { 10 comments }
Storm Tactics, Learning From The Best
Tony and Coryn Gooch stopped by this summer in their lovely and beautifully maintained aluminum sloop Taonui. If you don’t know who they are, that is simply because they go out there on the ocean and do incredible things without fuss or drama. Like Tony deciding, when he was into “senior citizen” territory, that it [...]

Always Have A Way To Rest

by on August 26, 2010 { 9 comments }
There is so much about this story that worries me that it is hard to know where to start. A single-handed sailor abandoned his boat because he was totally exhausted from three days of hand steering, not because there was anything wrong with the boat.

Gale And Storm Preparation, At Anchor Or On A Mooring

by on September 1, 2009 { 3 comments }
Gale And Storm Preparation, At Anchor Or On A Mooring
We are on our mooring off our cabin in Nova Scotia with the remnants of tropical storm Danny heading our way. Last weekend it was Hurricane Bill* that passed close by giving us winds to 50 knots, even in this sheltered cove.

Liars, Damn Liars, And Sailors

by on October 1, 2007 { 2 comments }
My friend Kevin is tough. Tough enough that I have heard him called Kevlar. A veteran of tens of thousands of ocean miles, both racing and cruising, Kevin has seen some seriously nasty weather.
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