How are men and women different? Men prefer to hold a bachelor party on a motorboat while women prefer a sailboat for a bachelorette party. The reasons are simple. Men like boats that go fast, make noise and stink. What better place to enjoy your last night of freedom than
Is the boat safe? Stand back on the dock and look at it. One tell-tale sign that a sailboat is ship-shape is that the lines (ropes) are clean and not frayed. The fiberglass doesn’t have to gleam, but it should be intact without gouges, cuts or holes. (A few
Every summer, Category 3 hurricanes along the East Coast inspire anxiety among sailors. In describing how to survive a sailing emergency, these are ranked not by worst-case at the top because all of them are bad scenarios. Instead, they are ranked by degree of likelihood-to-happen, with the top categories representing
The art of sailing dates to ancient time and has only gotten better. From Monet to Manet, sailing and sailboats make compelling images. Many paintings derive from five scenes. 1. Sunsets are immortal. They convey the end of a day, and if that day was spent on the water, all the
The list is endless to keep a sailboat shipshape. It breaks out into several lists of discrete responsibilities based on timetables. That way, things proceed in an organized way that stops short of overwhelming the skipper. Here is a starter kit for the new sailboat owner. It’s easy to become
Birds of the York River are fascinating to watch, every day and any season. Rob and Share Breitenstein of Pensacola FL took their three beautiful children sailing on breezy York River, where we saw dolphins hunting schools of fish. Either that or they were just playing; it’s hard to tell
You can go for days without seeing another boat on the York River. Then they show up in multitudes, seemingly for no reason. In fact, there is a cycle to the boating and shipping traffic. Here’s a rundown of the range of boats and ships along the York River.
1. OVER-THINKING—Look, this is a sport. It’s not rocket science. Many of my students had bad experiences on a sailboat as a child or with their dad or first husband. That was then. Now you have another chance. Clear your mind of preconditions and take one step at a time.
Our charter company Let’s Go Sail offers a special Boat-Buyer Cruise for those inclined toward acquisition. The three-hour cruise is a challenge because the prospective buyer is often a fellow whose wife isn’t all that crazy about the idea. In fact, some women remain hell bent against it. For both
The American Sailing Association is a venerable organization that I belong to as a professional mariner. I hold ASA credentials to teach three certified courses. Having said that, the ASA list is flawed for lacking “Sailing,” by Christopher Cross. It is the single-most mentioned song by guests at Let’s Go
