Cruising Desolation Sound with Classic Books and Stories

I have always been an excellent armchair sailor. Before any major voyage, I scour bookstores, websites, libraries, archives, and friends’ bookshelves. Sure, I’ll pick up cruising guides, nature studies, or an occasional…

Finding Our Own Way in Pole Pass

The Leonard family relaxes on Teal after participating in the 1980 Olympia Harbor Days Races. Left to right are Charlie, Linda, Lisa (the author), and Don Leonard. A family cruising a classic wooden tug tries to transit a…

A Boat, A Baby, and Bears!

The author and daughter, Vela, take a turn at the helm rounding Cape Caution. Readers of 48° North surely recall Lauren Upham’s previously published stories of cruising the Salish Sea, baking sourdough on-board, and bringing…

Is This Even Real?! 48° North Cruising Rally 2023

The best sailing of the trip, broad reaching in Plumper Sound with breeze in the mid teens! I woke early and climbed the companionway stairs of our stern-tied Canadian Sailcraft 40 in Annette Inlet on Prevost Island. The…

Reviving Hope: Hōkūleʻa’s One Day Stop in Port Townsend

The storied voyaging canoe, Hōkūleʻa, completed its visit to Puget Sound ports this week with an emotional reception in Port Townsend.   Never has there been a better summer, week, or day for a visit from Hōkūleʻa, the…

Three Sheets NW: Princess Louisa Inlet

One of several pleasant surprises about Backeddy Resort & Marina was its walkable proximity to witness the raw power of the tidal exchange at Skookumchuck Narrows. We sat on our boat on a Friday in mid-July, dejectedly…

#TBT High Latitude Sailing – Immersion Style

In our latest Throwback Thursday, PNW journalist David Schmidt has a conversation with adventurer and writer, Cameron Dueck. The article ran in the July 2012 issue of 48° North, a few years after Dueck departed Victoria, BC,…

Editor’s Letter: Quiet Islands

Spoiler alert for the 48° North Cruising Rally feature article in this issue (page 36) — it was amazing! One element of this rally’s awesomeness was how unseasonably quiet the islands felt. The anchorages of the San Juan and…

#TBT: Five Days, Four Islands – A Brief Journal of the Unexpected

In our latest Throwback Thursday, we follow along on a sailing journey through the San Juan Islands where every day and moment must be savored. "Five Days, Four Islands" first appeared in the April 2004 issue of 48° North A…

Shifting Gears: Mechanical Machinations

Powerboat cruising is fast and fun... when the engine works! Several days into our thus-far blissful and easy summer cruise on our new-to-us C-Dory 22, Sea Lab, we landed in Edmonds to refuel. My partner in life and…