When a sailor progress to sailing through the night a headlamp becomes essential gear. This article tells you which headlamp you should buy and why it’s the best choice for sailing on the market.
How to Heave a Line
Use this simple technique to throw a line accurately short to moderate distances. This technique has proved adequate during my sailing career aboard recreational vessels. Oftentimes students I teach this technique to make their next throw past the person they’re aiming for, over the dock, over the water behind the dock and into the parking […]
How to Lasso a Cleat (or Piling) while Docking
Practice lassoing a cleat from a distance and you’ll be able to save a docking attempt without even taking a step, let alone a flying leap!
Dockline Handling Addendum
This video is the first follow up to my original dockline handling video . I’m working on two more boat handling videos – keeping the videos shorter has the handy side effect that they’re much less time consuming to produce!
Crossing the Gulf Stream from Bermuda to New England
Gear failure complicates an unusual passage across the Gulf Stream.
Anchor More Safely with a Dinghy Scout Track
With any simple handheld chartplotter, often as simple as your smartphone with your favorite navigation app installed, you can use this technique to improve your safety margin in sparsely charted areas. I love tips like this that use gear I’ve already paid for in an unorthodox way, especially when it allows me to enhance safety […]
Tragic Drowning in the Chicago-Mac
Near the start of the 2018 Chicago Yacht Club’s Race to Mackinac race a sailor was washed overboard and drown. This account from his team makes my stomach churn: The boat made three unsuccessful approaches to retrieve him, during which crew noted that his life jacket had not inflated. During the third approach, crewmembers saw […]
Customizing your Chartplotter with Local Knowledge
Step by step instructional video for customizing a chart with local knowledge and then loading it onto a smartphone chartplotter app. Using only free software! Download Links Image Customization: Preview on OSX (builtin app) GIMP Maptiler File Management “Downloads” App (builtin on many Android devices) X-Plore File Manager SailGrib Weather Routing Free
