Close to the Water: Fun Stinks
As a kid, I loved our family’s banana-yellow speedboat. It was the most typical fiberglass outboard boat you could buy in those days, but it was my ticket to fishing, knee-boarding, camping, and just zooming around. I…
The Dreaded Christmas Cruise
From the December 2019 issue of 48° North. The grinchiest of pooches, Barfy the Boat Dog, might burst your yuletide bubble... or not. This twinkly, tinsel-draped, hull-decking holiday can jingle all the way to hell, as far…
Sneaking Out: A Quick Overnight Cruise on the Columbia
Come late August, it dawned on my wife that we’d never managed to go on vacation this year. I’d been on a solo weeklong cruise, but Kate hadn’t spent a night away from home since 2019. Our college-age son had moved back…
Thanksgiving Aboard
Rewarding No Matter Where You Go or What You Eat From the November 2020 issue of 48° North. The sweet smell of pumpkin pie wafted through the cabin and out of the companionway as Jill hoisted the tasty dessert up to me.…
#TBT: Fall Cruising Adventures | Circumnavigating Fidalgo Island
Looking back down memory lane at some classic fall cruising adventures, here's a post for Throwback Thursday (#TBT) I wrote on November 20, 2015, about cruising around Fidalgo Island. “Why not go down to Deception Pass?” my…
Neither Round Nor Rogue the County: Just Some Great Late Fall Sailing
Young Parents Take Their Fast Boat Out For a Fall Cruise With Their 10 Week Old As much as we wanted to, we didn't do Rogue the County. When Round the County was canceled, a number of racers decided to go…
Navigating a Small Boat Adventure During a Pandemic
In any normal year, I’d typically get two or three rowing trips under my belt in my home away from home, the Pacific Northwest. But the shutdown changed all of that—2020 is not a “normal” year. This year, I was grateful for…
Hop to the San Juans
Choosing Adventure on an Unusual Cruising Craft From the October, 2020 issue of 48° North. After spending a year-and-a-half living in Vancouver, British Columbia, I moved back home to Puget Sound this June. Both the…
Taking Refuge in Canada
When an emergency stop is required inbound from Hawaii, an American couple finds shelter across a closed border From the October, 2020 issue of 48° North. Five hundred lonely miles west of Cape Flattery, the sickening sound…
How have we never been here before?
Rediscovering a sense of surprise and wonder while cruising close to home From the October, 2020 issue of 48° North. I’m a little embarrassed to admit we’d never really heard about Watmough Bay near the southeast tip of…
