Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2022 i Soundings

What group would you guess causes the most crashes aboard recreational boats: ages 12 to 25, or ages 30 to 50? A new law in Maine suggests it’s the younger boaters—but not everything is as it seems. This past spring, Maine became ground zero for a debate on the necessity of mandatory boating education classes, a conversation that has repeated itself for years in legislatures nationwide. The Pine Tree State joined this particular fray late, with its boater-education bill being put forward after at least 36 other states had already imposed some form of mandatory classes. Still, the arguments echoing within the Maine State House were just as loud as everywhere else. On one side were lawmakers, regulatory agencies and concerned boaters saying things have gotten out of hand on…

Some of my fondest memories were formed in Watch Hill, Rhode Island, a village at the southwestern-most point of the state in the town of Westerly. I have spent many summers cruising through Little Narragansett Bay and Block Island Sound and enjoying the village’s renowned beaches. The area remains one of my favorite cruising destinations in the Northeast. With distinct New England charm and a rich history, Watch Hill is a great way-point for any boater passing through Rhode Island this summer. Historically a summer home for socialites during the 19th century with only a small population of year-round residents (primarily fishermen), Watch Hill has since evolved into a more family-centric community than the nearby destination of Newport. The town has a walkable downtown area with multiple public beaches, storefronts…

I dawalley Zoradia Lewis was about 12 years old when she saved her first lives at sea. Ida’s father, Hosea Lewis, was a retired captain who became the keeper at Lime Rock Light in Newport, Rhode Island. Just four months after the family moved to the island in Newport Harbor, Hosea had a stroke. Ida had to help her mother tend the lamp at dusk and midnight to keep approaching sailors safe from The Lime Rocks, a series of limestone ledges about 900 feet from shore. At the time, the harbor was filled with everything from steamships to sailing vessels, what with Newport being a major port and a summer getaway for the wealthy. Amid all that traffic, Ida also had to row her younger siblings to school before bringing…

How many people could you save from a sinking boat using a Lyle gun? In the late 19th century, members of the U.S. Coast Guard would stand on shore and fire the line-throwing gun invented by a military man named David Lyle. The basic act of firing the gunpowder-packed gun could knock it back 6 feet and send waterproof, braided line nearly the length of six football fields. That line would sail toward (and, hopefully, onto) the vessel in distress. A “life car” would then be sent out on the line, to collect people and bring them ashore. “The specificity that the Coast Guard has to locate you by GPS, put a helicopter over your boat and pluck you off the deck—that’s certainly hard to do, but it’s a lot…

Capt. Greg Thornton has been delivering yachts for more than 10 years. Along the way, he’s encountered virtually every type of electronic navigation equipment, which is why he keeps the Navionics app on a tablet in his gear bag. “You’re jumping on a boat blindly, and rather than having to get a specific map or program, Navionics caters to that diversity,” said Thornton. Recently, he had to move a 100-foot Swan sailing yacht from Sint Maarten to Rybovich Marina in West Palm Beach, Florida. The radar was the only functioning technology on the vessel. “If I didn’t have Navionics on my tablet, I would have been dealing with old-school navigation, looking at the Ritchie compass and having to plot,” he says. Thornton, who is the founder of Norseman International, which…

Christi and Jan van Heek are no strangers to Down East Maine, having visited the region’s postcard-like ports countless times aboard their J/46 sailboat. They are also new residents of Rackliff Island just south of Rockland, having moved there a year ago from Marblehead, Massachusetts. Their two adult daughters and their families followed them. “We’re all Mainers now,” says Christi. It’s a late October morning as I pull into a parking spot at Safe Harbor Rockland Marina, where I’ll meet the van Heeks. The sun is beaming, but I’m wearing a parka because it’s not like boating weather. Like, at all. So then why are we going cruising? The van Heeks tell me they have just returned from Holland and need to collect their Goldendoodle, Maggie, from their daughter’s home…

NEW ENGLAND REGION ROYAL RIVER GRILL HOUSE, YARMOUTH, MAINE The Royal River in Yarmouth, Maine, is a scenic destination that flows for 26 miles from Sabbathday Lake to Casco Bay and includes more than 100 miles of tributaries. Located on the riverfront is Royal River Grill House, which serves wood-grilled seafood and steaks. (Note that the dock in front of the restaurant is private and does not have space for customers.) The restaurant serves dinner daily and lunch on Monday through Saturday, with a lighter mid-day menu available from 3 to 4 p.m. every day. There’s also a breakfast menu on Fridays and Saturdays, and a brunch menu on Sundays. Signature house specialties include wood-grilled salmon, duck breast and kurobuta pork chop, with a number of a la carte steaks…

A lobster boat approaches a small, isolated island on a foggy day in Maine. The water is flat-calm and displays crisp reflections of the vessel and the lone house on the island. Artist Keith Reynolds created this composition, entitled Christmas Island, after visiting Christmas Cove just north of Boothbay, where he was inspired by what he saw he saw just off the peninsula. “One of the things people like about my work is the soft gradation from sky to sea, and the other thing they like are the mirror-like reflections,” Reynolds says. “This island lent itself very well to that interpretation.” Reynolds, who has been actively painting since 1961, says he has painted hundreds of Maine fishing boats throughout his career and has learned how to depict them by heart.…

The July Fourth weekend is a favorite holiday for many boaters, particularly for those in the Northeast. Summertime is well underway, the boat is finally running and, for many of us, fun is in full swing with cruising, overnighting on the hook, sandbar rendezvous, fishing and water sports. The long weekend gives us a chance to relax and reflect on how great it can be to spend time with the family on the water. In the excitement to get out there, though, it’s important to remember you will not be alone. Far from it. Especially during the July Fourth holiday weekend, you’ll be sharing the waterways with leagues of other recreational and commercial vessels. This means your skills and boating manners need to be in top form, not only to…

One day shortly after my tenth birthday, I woke just after dawn to the sound of rain pitter-pattering on the thin glass windows of our little yellow Cape house. As I came to, I realized it was Sunday morning. My dad’s store was closed, so he’d be home. I jumped out of bed and yanked on my Wranglers from a tangled heap on the floor. Rummaging through my dresser, I found my favorite rainbow sweatshirt and raced out of my room, skidding into the kitchen, Topsiders in hand. Dad looked up from his coffee and smiled, muffin crumbs caught in the new beard he was growing. His eyes, heavy-lidded at half mast, twinkled at my excitement. “There’s some wind and waves this morning,” he said with a grin. “Yes!” I…

In the 1950’s, designer Bruce Bingham discovered two derelict wooden sailboats just south of Wickford, Rhode Island. They were 22 and 28 feet long with a strong sheer, bluff bow and low freeboard. Bingham learned they were Newport boats—fishing boats with roots in mid-19th century Rhode Island. Bingham used their lines to create an affordable 20-foot LOD pocket cruiser and named it Flicka (which means “happy little girl” in Swedish). The first line drawings were published in a 1972 issue of Rudder magazine and 400 sets of plans were sold. Bingham and his partner Katy Burke wanted a Flicka of their own so in 1974 they created a plug, but sold it to California’s Nor’Star Fiberglass Yachts when they found themselves short on money. For about two years, Nor’Star sold…

In 2019 my wife, Molly, and I cast off lines from our homeport in New Hampshire with the goal of cruising as far as New Zealand before turning around and heading back home. We traveled for almost two years, and during that time we savored archipelagos galore, having made stops in the eastern Caribbean, the Galapagos, Tahiti and French Polynesia, and the Cook Islands. And yet the virtually unknown Kingdom of Tonga was the most pleasant surprise. One of the most enchanting cruising grounds in the world, it has crystal-clear waters, lush green islands, white-sand beaches, vibrant reefs and friendly English-speaking people. But those things are only part of Tonga’s charm. This chain of 171 islands, of which only 36 are inhabited, offers mile after mile of sheltered water with…

LOA: 46’3” Beam: 14’3” Draft: 3’10” Displ.: 28,495 lbs. Power: (2) 450-hp Cummins diesels Fuel: 450 gals. Water: 200 gals. By the time you read this, Kim Russo and Michael Martin will be cruising The Perch, a Silverton 410 Sport Bridge, somewhere in the Great Lakes, loosely following the path of the 6,000-mile-long American Great Loop, navigable water that encircles the eastern half of the U.S. and portions of the Canadian coastline. The couple began their adventure in Ft. Myers, Florida, in the early spring. Having learned Port Lucie Lock on the eastern side of Lake Okeechobee was closed, they chose to begin their trip by heading south for Marathon in the Keys, to round the tip of the Florida peninsula. Russo has been the director of the American Great…