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Read more: Where Do We Go From Here?I rarely attend major boat shows these days, and sincerely don’t regret it. In the past I spent many a day on stands for whoever it was that I was working for, or supporting, at that time, generally in the foul aired mausoleum that housed the late, lamented (?) London Boat Show at Earl’s Court. Not […]
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Read more: Perfect or Good Enough?We all want to maintain our boats at the highest possible level, but on the other hand if we do every job perfectly we will never go cruising. Here are some thoughts on maintaining a sane balance.
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Read more: Shelter Cove, Nova Scotia—An Aptly-Named AnchorageDeserted beaches and partridgeberries, only two of the many benefits of the aptly-named Shelter Cove.
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Read more: Enough With The Northwest Passage, AlreadyThis whole transiting the Northwest Passage (The Passage) in a yacht is getting out of hand and many (maybe most) of the crews and boats trying it shouldn’t be anywhere near the place. How can someone who has spent much of the last 20 years in the high latitudes in a yacht say that without being a […]
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Read more: Staying Attached To The BoatThe key to crew overboard prevention is never losing contact with the boat. In this chapter I take you through an easy-to-use (with a little practice) system, which we have evolved over 20 years sailing offshore short-handed on our boat, that will enable you to stay clipped on at all times and still have the mobility and reach to sail your boat properly.
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Read more: Install A Wash-down Pump—And Save Money!Want to save money when cruising? John divulges a surprising way to do just that.
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Read more: Cape Negro & McNutts Islands, Nova Scotia—In The SeasonCape Negro and McNutts Islands on the Nova Scotia southwest shore offer beautiful anchorages…in the right weather conditions.
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Read more: Let’s Go Sailing!OK, enough with all this talk of motorboats, let’s go sailing in a bit of breeze on Morgan’s Cloud. We made the video below a few days ago in a solid Force 7 blow (near gale, 28-33 knots).
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Read more: Motorboating and Sailing Compared—Part 2We discuss what Phyllis and I have learned about motorboats and particularly our impressions as filtered through our experience of tens of thousands of offshore miles in sailboats. We look at seaworthiness, fuel burn and my thinking on the related environmental issues, and then finish up with what all of this means to Phyllis and me personally.
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Read more: Motorboating and Sailing Compared—Part 1What’s it really like to make a passage on a trawler? John and Phyllis report on a crossing of the Gulf of Maine in a Nordhavn 55.
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Taming The Wild?—Tips For Cruising The Western Isles of Scotland
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Read more: Taming The Wild?—Tips For Cruising The Western Isles of ScotlandMore years ago than I care to admit, I made my first foray into my favourite cruising ground, the western isles of Scotland. Not only did it have a special resonance for me as a Scot living in exile, but it also offered a vastly different experience from my usual haunts in the western Channel. […]
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Read more: Twenty Two Adventure 40 Core PrinciplesAn article to keep us all, including me, on the straight and narrow path to a good boat as we discuss and refine the Adventure 40 design.
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Read more: The Tusket Islands, Nova Scotia—High Tides and Tidal RacesThe Tusket Islands make for a challenging but rewarding cruising ground.
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Read more: Crash PumpWhen John realized that the large bilge pump on Morgan’s Cloud was not really suitable, he went looking for an alternative in the commercial and industrial world and found a good solution.
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Read more: Always Take The Weather With YouColin is back from sailing in Scotland with one of his lovely marine wildlife articles. If this doesn’t move you…well, you are some cold hearted.
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Read more: The Right Way to Buy a Boat…And The Wrong WayBuying a boat is really difficult: What features are vital? Which features are dispensable? In this chapter, John comes up with a way for you to figure out what you need in a boat…and what you don’t.
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Read more: Estimating The Cost of Maintaining a Cruising BoatThere is not a lot of point in writing about maintenance without addressing the 800-pound gorilla in the room: what it really costs to maintain a cruising boat. Get this wrong and your cruise will be miserable and short. In this chapter we give you a simple, but surprisingly accurate, tool to estimate what maintenance is going to cost.
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Read more: You Need More Than MoneySome thoughts from Colin on vital training for voyaging sailors. Taking the steps he suggests could save your cruise.
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Read more: An Electric Bilge Pump For The AgesMorgan’s Cloud still has the same Jabsco 36600 bilge pump that was installed when she was launched in 1986. John explains how he keeps that pump in good running order.
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Read more: HF SSB Radio or Iridium Satellite Phone?What hardware should we buy for receiving weather information and other communications? In this chapter I take a look at the two main options, HF SSB and satellite phone, and make some recommendations.
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Read more: Far From The Maddening Crowd*Colin’s clear and insightful summary of their season cruising the Windward Islands of the Caribbean. This is the real story on this popular cruising destination from a deeply experienced voyager.
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Read more: We Are Not “Captains”This post is going to get me in all kinds of hot water, but I just can’t stand it any more. I tried to ignore it, I really did, but it’s no good, I have to say something. What’s making me crazy is the current fashion for recreational mariners, particularly on VHF radio, to call each other […]
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Read more: The World’s Best Bilge Pump SwitchOne of the best pieces of gear we can fit on a cruising boat.
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Read more: Lunenburg, Nova Scotia—An Evening On The WaterfrontJohn presents Lunenburg in a good light—both in words and pictures.
