Bound for the Windward Islands from the Bahamas, perhaps via the Dominican Republic and the Mona Passage, you’ll often find the subject of dirty fuel at the top of the agenda over those keenly awaited sundowners. It was mid-March. We’d dawdled too long in George Town and on the pristine beaches of the Exumas…
Modern marine diesels are amazingly dependable—but not fool-proof, not idiot-proof. I know this. I’ve learned it the hard way. This idiot has injured a number of ‘em. Being a klutz around a marine engine can be very, very expensive. Here’s how to avoid needless repairs. First, an overview. The #1 cause of premature marine…
“A record is just the result of an effort,” he says. “The important thing is the effort itself. Trying. Fighting. Succeeding.” He wants to be remembered as a survivor who fought for his dreams and made them happen. However, it is how Alvaro de Marichalar turned his ambitions into reality in record-setting man-against-the-sea voyages with…
I have spent my lifetime—particularly my professional life—extolling the virtues of small and simple craft. I’ve done this so well that I am now able to live aboard a large, complicated craft. Ah, sweet success! People often ask my religion and I blurt, “… hypocrisy!” I mean, really, what did the American educational system teach me…
I’m having a rough time. I’m writing a book on heavy weather and, it’s heavy going. One problem is my target audience are too dumb to avoid heavy weather.
Julian Putley remembers August ‘Augie’ Hollen: Innovative builder of Cowhorn schooners Augie, quite simply, was your quintessential Caribbean renaissance man. He arrived in the Virgin Islands in the ’60s on a yacht delivery, found the flavor of the islands to his liking and made them his home for over fifty years. His freedom-loving nature, love of…
My wife and I live a life of splendid isolation aboard our 43-foot ketch Ganesh—a cruising life so wonderful I totally forgot how awful penny-pinching dirt dwellers can be. Stupidly, I invited an old acquaintance, Tony Chutzpah of Fort Liquordale, to cruise Bali with us. There was only one stipulation: He had to pay for…
The second celebration of Wladek Wagner’s seven year circumnavigation was held in the BVI’s Trellis Bay in early February. Much has been written about this Polish sailor’s amazing voyage in no less than three vessels spanning seven years and beginning in 1932. All three vessels were named Zjawa and the last, Zjawa III was commandeered…
Achieving the dream of circumnavigating 15 months ago, the World ARC 2014-15 fleet set out from Saint Lucia to sail around the world. Amongst the crews were many nationalities, backgrounds and reasons for taking part. Since then, they have sailed well over 26,000 nautical miles, crossed 3 oceans and visited more than 17 countries. As…
Once upon a time there was a large empty bay in the Caribbean called Nirvana Bay. There were a dozen local fishing vessels pulled up on the beach, some trash, a couple of squatters’ shacks—and not much else. It was quiet. Nothing important happened. There were no businesses. Nobody was making any money. But the…
I’m a bit hurricane shy, as befits a sailor who has twice swum away from vessels in 100+ knots of circular breeze. Call me a storm-coward—I am cool with that. Just the phrase ‘tropical hurricane’ makes me pee my pants. The phrase ‘storm warning’ weakens my sphincter. Evidently, the Kiwis know this. Thus, they lured…
I have to admit I’ve often been guilty of those alcohol-infused delusions of grandeur. It’s an occupational hazard. After all, down here talk is cheap and so is the rum. Yet strangely enough, the idea of circumnavigating the British Virgin Islands on a sixteen-foot Hobie was not one of them. The purpose of the sail was…
For some strange reason, a tremendous number of Caribbean sailors are currently hanging out in Vava’U, Tonga. I have no idea why. Perhaps their mooring pennants rotted, they drifted through the Panama Canal in a daze, and are just now realizing they are far off their DR position—and, well, far, far out too. Another possibility:…
Once again, we are in the Southern Hemisphere—this isn’t so bad, except for having to stand on your head all day. And the fact that everything is back-asswards. For instance, the south wind is cold and the north wind is warm. This ain’t so bad either, except it throws a lot of old English poetry…
The sea is full of surprises. No matter how many oceans you cross, the one you are transiting can throw you a curve. Recently, we were running in reinforced Trades and larges seas along the north coast of Columbia when an additional swell set started building from the Nor’west. This wasn’t, at first, a problem…
Each evening, my wife Carolyn and I stroll the streets of Papeete in search of adventure. We almost always find it. Tahiti is an enthralling isle, the only place on our planet where so many sailors jump ship that you have to post a bond of US$1800 per person to step ashore. Yes, like the…
With months of preparation and many postponed departures the young St. Maarteners who are attempting to sail around the world have set sail. In February 2013 Kippy Gilders, Alex Nebe, Maria Merckens, Laura Bijnsdorp and I came up with the idea to take the 52ft Beneteau, Corina IV, around the world and visit over sixty…
Discover the inspiring story of Galia Moss, the Mexican sailor on a solo circumnavigation of Latin America to fund education and rebuild schools for children in need.
The best part of any circumnavigation isn’t planned nor foreseen – it happens by rare, weird happenstance. “Life is what happens while you are making other plans” is a truism that applies equally well to offshore sailors and dirt dwellers alike. The True Magic of Offshore Cruising is entirely unpredictable, and yet always lurks nearby,…
This month marks the 25th anniversary of the solo circumnavigation by Teddy Seymour, a voyage that wrote his name in the history books. The St. Croix sailor left Frederiksted harbor on February 26 1986 and returned on June 19 1987, becoming the first African-American man to solo circumnavigate the globe. Now, on the 25th…