The Offshore Voyaging Reference Site
It’s easy to spend big money on our boats but still miss little details that will have big consequences once we go to sea.
Bringing a boat alongside with current flowing can be demanding, but what if we have to turn around, too? Here’s how.
John’s thinking about anchors (again), some great books to read, a tragedy, and boat design, as well as an attainable adventure.
There are few greater challenges in cruising than coming alongside in current, particularly if it’s blowing. Here is a step-by-step way to dock in current.
Phyllis and I will be taking two to three weeks off from publishing new articles.
A real world example demonstrating how each of us must think carefully about our own needs when selecting an anchor, not just blindly follow tests or anecdotal reports.
Some thoughts on selecting a good first aid kit for cruising and then deciding what to add to it.
We often see cruisers using a portable gas generator to feed their boat’s shore power, but is that safe?
There’s no question that hurricane forecasting has become more accurate in recent years, but how much should we trust that?
Some of the most fun and satisfying sailing we can do is under asymmetric spinnaker. Here’s how to set and strike one safely with a sock, even offshore and in big breeze.
Despite the claims of sellers and brokers, very few boats come ready to cruise. Here are some of the conversion challenges we are faced with.
Shore power safety is something most of us don’t think about much, but here’s why we should, based on a scary real world experience, and some checks we should all make.
The first, and most vital, step in buying a boat is to define the mission. Here’s how well our new boat fits our plans for her.
It’s impossible to maintain an offshore voyaging boat without a good set of wrenches (spanners) and sockets. Here are the tools we chose and why.
We can learn a lot from field reports, as long as we select the right ones to learn from and keep an open mind.
I Part 1 we looked at eleven ways to make ourselves and our boats more attractive insurance risks. Now let’s look at the tough job of negotiating the best deal
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to get insurance for ocean passage making, but these tips will help.
John uses some 30 years of offshore voyaging experience to come up with a recommended kit of hand-held power tools.
The biggest contributor to getting off a dock against a strong wind or current in good order is how we rig up the lines and fenders.
The first decision we need to make when leaving a dock is whether to go out in reverse or forward. Here’s how to choose.
Getting Insurance for offshore passages is one of the biggest challenges facing many cruisers. The first step to success is understanding the problem.
In Part 1, I covered seven tips to get set up for coming alongside single-handed. Now let’s look at the tricky part: actually getting alongside alone.
Bringing a sail or motorboat alongside (docking) by ourselves can be difficult, but good preparation will make it much easier.
To be reliable, marine electronics networks must be properly documented. Here’s a quick and easy way to do that.
John forgot two important anchor selection criteria in the last article, so this one fixes that.