The shit hit the fan all at once: we rounded Cape Ann and suddenly we were no longer sheltered from the northwest wind or seas. We headed up to close hauled and began pounding into the chop. The sun dipped below the horizon and we were quickly enveloped in darkness. Rounding this natural choke point […]
Bareboat Provisioning
The midday sun is beating down on me as I maneuver this wheelbarrow through a mob that is the line for the dockside convenience store. I give up finding a way through and carry the wheelbarrow overhead through the crowd and onto the narrow street. I find my crew unloading groceries from a cab into […]
Provisioning Checklist
This is a checklist I use when provisioning. This doesn’t cover the “meat and potatoes” of provisioning; your daily meals for persons aboard. This article goes into some detail about how to provision daily meals and water. In the packing checklist I list every item of personal gear I think about bringing on a multi-day sailing […]
How To Provision
Provisioning can quickly become the most involved part of planning a stay aboard a sailboat. It makes sense for one person to coordinate provisioning but it’s tough to plan meals that will suit an entire crew’s dietary restrictions let alone please their palate. Usually when you’re bareboat chartering you’re provisioning from stores that don’t have […]
Winter Break: Bareboat Antigua and Barbuda
Eight days in paradise with 16 of my closest friends. Watching this video makes me feel like I’m back aboard our catamaran sailing the Caribbean trades. Seasickness warning: I tried to capture the feel of sailing a boat in open water in the trades in the first few minutes; a friend or two have reported […]
End of Season Follow-up
In my post about my last sail of the season I mentioned that my phone went for a swim in the bilge and I lost the footage. In a shocking turn of events the rice immersion saved the phone and some of the footage. It was a hectic sail so I didn’t get much footage […]
Neptune Subtly Hints that my Season is Over
I started the day denying that the sailing season is over. October 31st is just another date, I don’t need to stop sailing just because most of my friends’ boats are out of the water and Boston’s sailing clubs are closed for the season. We planned a fun day of sailing November 1st in Buzzards […]
The Scenic Route to the Boat Show
“Today is rain free and just a little bit on the windy side in the Boston Harbor. Let’s go sailing ehh?” “The bay will be much like the open ocean. Sounds like an adventure!” “I really want to get out there now!” Thus were my lamentations as I watched some formidable weather pass the East […]