Bottoms Up!
Employing Coppercoat in the quest for the perfect bottom job (published December 2012) The restoration and refit of our Pearson 424, Regina Oceani, has a focus on creating a craft that will be safer, more reliable, and—wherever possible—require less maintenance. The finishing of the bottom offers perhaps the best opportunity
The Experts Weigh In
BWS authors share their favorite safety and communication gear (published September 2012) Without question, our most valuable and useful piece of electronics is an ICOM 802 SSB with Pactor modem. We use it for email, gathering WeatherFax and GRIB file data, chatting with friends and listening to weather forecasters like
A Dangerous Game
Weather routing is a bit of a chess game against the weather-at times, it can be more dangerous than you'd like (published September 2012) It’s a chess game. You—or me—against the weather. It matters little whether I’m on a race or delivering a boat; trying to set a speed record
BWS Picks: The Best Destinations for Long Weekend Charters
With time at a premium for many sailors, we present six perfectly accessible areas for a weekend of cruising around the watery borders of the U.S. (published August 2012) Finding the best location for a three or four-day weekend of chartering involves more than just picking up a guide of
Weather Wizardry
Sailing season is the time to be aware, and the place to start is www.weather4sailors.com (published May 2009) We’ve all seen the headlines and read the stories. Each year, someone is caught unaware by an approaching squall, knocked down in a gale or storm, and hurt—or worse. Last year it
Mexico’s Costa Alegre
Cruising the "Gold Coast" (published April 2012) The Pacific coast of Mexico stretches for hundreds of miles, but the prime cruising ground is a short 50-mile stretch south of Puerto Vallarta. Fondly called the “Gold Coast” by cruisers for decades, it is also known as the “Costa Alegre” or “Costalegre,”
Portobelo, Panama
9°33'N 79°39'W (published March 2012) Mention Panama to a typical cruiser and they’ll usually think of the Panama Canal, the San Blas Islands or Bocas del Toro. But there’s another special little spot worthy of attention. Once the most important port in the entire region, the natural harbor of Portobelo
I See a Miracle
Why don't sailors sail anymore? (published March 2012) Nassau, 0900 hours. After picking up Curt Hewett, who will help me during the offshore passage to North Carolina, we raise the sails, weigh anchor and head westward out of Nassau Harbour. Noticing the stir we’re creating and all the cameras aimed
Food Heresy Offshore
(published March 2012) When provisioning for our recent (and first) trans-Atlantic voyage on Equilibre, our Catana 381 catamaran, I did the usual due diligence by reading magazines and books and trolling the Internet for advice. The suggestions were predictable: keep it simple, think practically and avoid glass containers. Textured vegetable
Know Your Limits!
The invisible lines on the water that affect your rights underway (published March 2012) Mariners who sail both U.S. inland and coastal waters are required to know one set of boundary limits—the ones that mark the jurisdiction of the U.S. Inland Navigation Rules. These boundaries are called Demarcation Lines; they