Attainable Adventure Cruising

For over 10 years the Boréal 44/47 has been in a class of her own when we think about buying a new aluminum centreboard expedition boat, or any offshore cruising boat, for that matter. But now there is a new challenger in the neighbourhood: the Garcia Exploration 45. In this, the first of four articles, John compares the rigs of these two boats. And even if you are not interested in either boat, you will get some good ideas of what to look for in a boat to go to out-of-the-way hazardous places, particularly the high latitudes—or even just offshore.

John spent some time at the Ultra Anchor booth at the boat show. There were things he liked about the anchor, and one that he didn’t, and it’s a doozy.

Andy Schell sails offshore more than most, and is my goto guy for the positive view on all things. We had a great chat about buying second hand fibreglass boats.

How do we decide between the three options for electronic navigation? John provides a logical framework to make that easier.

John just returned from the US Sailboat Show in Annapolis, Maryland. Here’s a report on the boats that caught his eye, along with some thoughts on getting “out there” in an affordable way.

Hang around with cruisers, and sooner or later someone will say, “Never buy a boat with…”. Should we listen? John shares how to decide, and examines the choice between encapsulated and bolt on keels.

A new-old source for pre-made Dacron jacklines as well as the webbing to make them DIY.

For nearly 20 years billionaires have been promising that worldwide, fast, always on, and reasonably priced internet, that we could use anywhere on our boats, was just around the corner, but now Matt makes a convincing case that we really will see this soon, and why things are different and better this time. Most important of all, he explains what we need to do to get ready.

There is endless debate about the effectiveness of moisture meters. Here are the facts from Steve D’ Antonio, who has used one for decades, together with some thoughts from John.

There has been a lot of excitement in the offshore cruising world about Iridium Next, the long promised, and now completed, new constellation of satellites for the system that has, for the last 20 years, been the only viable world wide satellite communication system for yachts owned by anyone other than the super-rich. But does Next really change anything?

Whenever the subject of buying a boat comes up, the horror stories about surveys that failed to find serious, or even catastrophic, structural problems are sure to follow. John interviews industry expert Steve D’Antonio to learn how to avoid having our very own survey horror story.

Sure, electronic navigation is great, but blindly relying on it, and on those who develop plotter software, could put us on the rocks.

When researching buying a cruising boat, we are deluged with information on all the gear she must have and how perfect she must be before we can go cruising. But is that really true? How about buying an old and tired boat and just getting out there? John tells his story of going cruising in a half-assed boat…and having one of the best times in his life. Will this work for you? He shares tips on how to decide.

Andy, of 59˚North, shares his hard-won drone-flying secrets so that you can get the same cool video and stills while sailing offshore that he does.