#TBT: How to use a LifeSling (Video)
For this Throwback Thursday (#TBT) we're tossing it back to an excellent safety video published in 2011... Many boaters likely have a LifeSling on their vessels, but how many actually know how to use them? Do you know what…
Upgrade your boat from home: Splice Dyneema soft shackles
One of the most productive things you can do for your boat while self isolating and social distancing is to learn something new. Fortunately, YouTube is full of tutorials for the modern sailor to add tricks to their bag of…
Gates of the Inside Passage
Tips for Safe and Happy Transits As we motored through Dent Rapids, the VHF radio chirped to life. “When are we going to get to the rapids?” a flotilla participant asked. Having just passed through Yuculta Rapids, Gillard…
Sonic’s Lessons: Recommendations from Overboard Rescues
Scott Smith Shares Overboard Rescue Experiences from TP 52 Sonic
Forecasting and Evaluating Local Weather
Starpath Navigation's David Burch takes us through local weather analysis, with a focus on the 2020 Toliva Shoals Race For local weather, meaning inland and near coastal, we need regional models. For the day of the sail the…
The Ins-and-Outs of Using Your Horn Cleats
Cleats = Good. Proper Use = Even better! Properly installed horn cleats are some of the most important pieces of gear that we have aboard our boats. And it's also imperative to know how to use them them properly. You'd be…
Sound Transit: Go North, Go Fast
How do you cut nearly two hours off a slow sailing trip from Seattle to the San Juan Islands? Well, you could buy a new engine. Maybe get a super slick bottom paint job. Or just leave the boat at home and take the Victoria…
Heavy Air in Hecate Strait: Wild Wind & Waves in the Teeth of a Gale
Writing about our rough crossing of Hecate Strait isn’t something that comes easily—it’s actually a memory I’d rather not relive. Learning from your mistakes is an important trait of successful sailors, though, and the…
What Overboard Survivors Want You to Know
Who are the experts on the experience of…
New current chart app for boaters in Straits of Juan de Fuca and Georgia
If boaters in the Salish Sea know one thing, it's that the current is king. Want a boost, go with it. Fail to pay attention to tidal movement and it could cost you. But current prediction charts for cruisers, racers, and…