Sowing the Seeds of Speed While Fostering Fun
Influential Coaches & the High School Sailing Boom From the February issue of 48° North On a misty Saturday afternoon, I sit with one of the local island families in the Orcas Island High School gym watching their…
Experiential Learning, Maritime Style!
Port Townsend Maritime Academy Skills Center When Kelley Watson convenes her high school classes in Port Townsend, it might be in a classroom with a white board with tables and chairs. Or not. More likely, it will be in the…
The Argon Collective
"Argon" owners Jasmine Wornstaff, Sam Morin, Libby Borchert, and Calla Ward {left to right} enjoy Lake Union with Jasmines sister, Jessica Going sailing starts with a decision. Going sailing starts with a decision. A…
A self-reminder that cruising is not a vacation
Arriving back at Yahtzee in Sitka Harbor after an amazing trip to visit family in Michigan, I climb aboard and instantly start sorting through projects and things that need to get done. Fix the fridge drain. Replace hoses…
Why I named my boat ‘Capi’ (Hint: Think “Curve of Time”)
I’ve owned Capi, a 1994 Catalina 34, for exactly one year. I spent the year before that searching for a boat. I looked at dozens of boats online and checked out more than 15 in person before finding Capi in Oak Harbor, WA.…
Streamlining for re-entry to the cruising life
I’m going to say straight away here that sailboats sitting at the dock are no fun. Don’t be fooled into thinking they are. I’ve essentially known this fact since I was I kid, but recently have been forcing my nomadic,…
Winning the war on drips
It’s a long hard struggle to get the upper hand on condensation and its fungal accomplices. The temperature dipped to the lowest it had been this winter and I became, I admit, obsessed with the nemesis of my life as a…
Dancing the move-aboard two-step
Writing this from our friend’s log cabin in the woods outside of Seward, another fresh dusting of snow has just fallen. The days are getting longer in what seems to be leaps and bounds, and while winter activities like…
Living 40-feet at a time in the new year
Sitting on the floor of our rental cabin tucked in the woods outside of Seward, I talked Porter through the steps of splicing Dyneema loops and inserting low friction rings. Ever my studious rigging assistant, he then helped…
Lost water tribes and thoughts on a New Year
A few years ago, I sailed nearly 100 miles up the Columbia River, from Astoria to Portland. The wind came up early each day and lasted until dusk, allowing for long, uninterrupted days of downwind or beam reach sailing. So…
