Happily Home on the Sea
Last week I wrote a sailing story for the blog, but it felt a bit rushed to jump back in after so many months off and I didn't hit publish. We'd recently returned home to Yahtzee in southern Mexico, cleaned her up, gotten…
Three Sheets Northwest: Sailing Home to British Columbia
This article was originally published in the November 2021 issue of 48° North Sitting in our cockpit off Jones Island at sundown, I looked to the northeast and watched as shifting tones of pink, peach, and slate enveloped…
Close to the Water: A Bunk on the Water
This article was originally published in the November 2021 issue of 48° North It happens whenever I row up to an anchorage or dock around dusk; heads turn, as sailors of cabin boats scrutinize Row Bird and me. Of course, I…
Return to Alaska
With their beloved boat Yahtzee on the hard for hurricane season, the Cross family returns to their old haunts for the summer and finds their way onto the water. Rows of sailboats and fishing vessels of all shapes and sizes…
An Unusual Encounter of the Moth Kind
When a midnight moth party erupts aboard, a sailor joins the festivities and bails them out the best he can. This summer’s two week cruise was scheduled to begin June 26 aboard our 34-foot Jeffcat catamaran, which happened…
#TBT: A Father’s Lessons
Throwback Thursday is back with the story of an adventurous father and the lessons he taught. Originally published in the October 2004 issue of 48° North by Sarah Mitchelson. My dad is a blustery British sailor who is…
Sailing the Salish 100
This article was originally published in the September 2021 issue of 48° North. Every year of my childhood, without fail, my parents tried to sign me up for a new sport or group activity — when I was far happier exploring…
Pacific Gale Sail: 24 Hours of Preparation, Endurance & Recovery
This article was originally published in the August 2021 issue of 48° North. The triangles on the cold front symbol remind me of teeth — fangs, actually — while I stare at a weather map on my computer screen. Sailing…
Close to the Water: Dreaming of the Inside Passage
This article was originally published in the August 2021 issue of 48° North. In some ways I never really returned from the Inside Passage. After my meandering, six-week solo journey from Port McNeil to Anacortes in 2019, I…
Tales of the Northwest Passage: What’s in a fish?
This article originally appeared in the June 2021 issue of 48° North. Night had begun to return since leaving the last settlement of Cambridge Bay. Headed west, the wind on our nose, Breskell pounded into the teeth of the…
