Editor’s Letter: Anchorages and Marinas
A while back, I found myself in a casual conversation with other cruisers when someone commented, “We always anchor, we never go to marinas.” “Ok, that’s fine,” I remember thinking at the time. Conversations like these…
Editor’s Letter: Racing Rewards in the Pacific Northwest
The smell of hot dogs wafted through the cockpit from the grill on our boat’s stern, and laughter rang out from friends sitting on the side deck and perched on the cabin top after a sappy joke. We were making way, but the…
Editor’s Letter: The Season for Learning
A couple weeks ago, I sat on a yacht club lawn in a white Adirondack chair and watched as my boys and the rest of the summer sailing campers in their weeklong class put away boats. Porter, our oldest at 11, helped fold the…
Together Adventures: Family Cruising Near and Far
Over the years of cruising with our children, I’ve had a number of people contact me for advice about starting out cruising as a family, especially in the Pacific Northwest. I’m happy to oblige and provide relevant…
Sea Feasts of British Columbia
Raising the oars from the water, I let our dinghy ghost ahead into the small cove surrounded by moss covered rocks and tall conifers. A bald eagle wheeled high above the island group and, besides the rustling of water from…
Ready… Go! Jumping Off for Extended Cruising
Congratulations, you’re making the leap or are seriously scheming how to do so. After many happy long weekends and blissful week-long cruises in local waters, you’ve successfully secured a month or a summer or maybe even…
Weather Dependent: Valuable Weather Window Lessons Honed in the PNW
The author's wife Jill and son Porter look on…
Alluring Alaska: The Ups, Downs and Rewards of Cruising “The Last Frontier”
Yahtzee anchored and stern-tied at Fox Island……
Editor’s Letter: The Joys of Summer Boating in the PNW
Eleven years ago this month, my wife Jill and I finalized the purchase of our beloved 1984 Grand Soleil 39 on Lake Union and couldn’t have been more excited. Starry-eyed youngsters, we celebrated with beers on the patio of…
A Tale of Two Passages: Colombia>Aruba>Curaçao
We've owned the good ship Yahtzee for 11 years now and, with all the passages in our wake and the places we've been, our family has learned a lot about life and the realities of living aboard a traveling sailboat. Besides…