Cruising World October 2023

There’s a cherished bond between mariners and their vessels. It’s a simple fact of boating, a connection that occurs naturally over years of shared experiences, challenges and triumphs. A seasoned deck, a weathered hull, the familiar creaks and groans of planks down below: Such are the individualities that our boats acquire over time, telling tales of journeys taken and memories made. Like relatives, our older boats carry the echoes of yesteryear, evoking a sense of nostalgia that can’t be replicated. Still, this time each year, as summer relinquishes its sweaty hold on much of the United States and cooler sailing days welcome the fall boat-show season, my love affair with time-honored vessels takes a brief hiatus. As the newest boat models make their grand entrances, I join countless cruising enthusiasts,…

Because the Bahamas island chain is shallow, the water it occupies in the Atlantic Ocean is that much lighter and, frankly, more beautiful than the Caribbean Sea. You can sail for miles in 10 to 15 feet of the lightest hues of blues and turquoise, suddenly plunge into thousands of feet of dark-blue ocean, and return to shallow turquoise toward the edge of the next island. The shelf acts and feels like a large V. Story on page 24…

Eibbor and Knarf’s parents were kidnapped by Frost Giants. The boys desperately needed help. Scooter Squirrel raced to Winston Woodchuck, who dived into his burrow, frantically digging until he reached the tunnels of the Dwarves. They summoned Frey, who came with his longship, Skidbladnir, and took the boys to Asgard to plead their case to Odin. Skidbladnir was enchanted so that, among other magical traits, it always had fair winds and got where it needed to go. Such were the bedtime stories Dad told my brother, Frank, and me more than 60 years ago in the wild hills of West Bolton, Vermont, overlooking Lake Champlain. Despite the US Navy being born on Lake Champlain and the famous Capt. Phillips living a few miles from our house, Vermont is the only…

With the cold season approaching in many parts of the country, it’s time to take a look at gear that will let you enjoy time on the water with toys such as kayaks, rowing and sailing dinghies, paddleboards, and the like. Samples of cooler-weather kit were provided by the manufacturers and by Team One Newport in Rhode Island, which sells brands such as Helly Hansen, Musto and Patagonia. The hands-on testing was rather informal. Living outside Boston, where big boats often get put away by mid-October, I was launching my inflatable for dinghy rides and my paddleboard late into the fall thanks to Mustang Survival’s Taku dry bib and Taku dry top. The chest-high overalls and socks are watertight and rugged, with room to wear heavy socks and a pair of…

Cruisers often bypass the small and lesser-known southeastern Bahamian islands on their windward passage through the Exumas on their way south to the Caribbean. But they shouldn’t. Take the advice of Bruce Van Sant, legendary sailor and author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Passages South: “Don’t rush through the islands; they are too perfect.” So, Google up a map, friends, and follow along. Because the Bahamas are shallow, the water they occupy in the North Atlantic Ocean is that much lighter, and, frankly, more beautiful than the Caribbean Sea. You can sail for miles in 10 to 15 feet of the lightest hues of blues and turquoise, suddenly plunge into thousands of feet of dark blue ocean, and return to shallow turquoise toward the edge of the next island. The…

We had departed Santa Catalina Island, California, at midnight aboard our Peterson 46, Esprit. It was October, and we were making the 60-plus-nautical-mile passage at night because of a favorable wind forecast. Our destination, Ventura, lay upwind. Winds would be fairly light but enough to avoid motoring the entire way. My husband, Mitchell, and I are both originally from a landlocked mountain town: Park City, Utah, which we still call our official home port. We bought Esprit in Panama in 2018, then sailed back to San Francisco Bay, where we could operate charters to earn money for extended cruising. When the pandemic hit, charters were no longer an option, so we relocated to Southern California to live aboard and work. We chose Ventura because we had friends there and could…