The author presses bearings back into…
Close to the Water: Opening Day
Opening Day means different things for different sailors. For some, it means practicing maneuvers and parading past judges while steering in formation. For others, it’s a sailboat race that starts the spring series. Since I…
Close to the Water: Boat Ramp Champs
I was on one of my early camp-cruising trips in a 15-foot rowboat when I approached the tiny marina at Blake Island State Marine Park. Two sailors from a 40-foot trawler climbed down from their deck chairs to the dock. “Do…
Close to the Water: Small Boats, Big Influence
A 16-foot Jim Michalak-designed Scram Pram,…
Bill and a friend work on the boat in the…Close to the Water: Capsize!
Are You Ready to Self-Recover?
Fern swims towards the bow…
Bill rolls his boat down the gravel ramp…Close to the Water: The Old-Fashioned Way
Navigating the waters of the Pacific Northwest with simplicity and satisfaction
Close to the Water: Other Boats
My old college friend and I were eager to get away and forgot the daily details that usually preoccupy us. And as we slowly ghosted into Jones Island’s broad horseshoe-shaped cove, I knew we’d chosen the right spot. An…
The author does a test launch of his new Portage…