Inflatable PFDs Wont Save You Without Proper Care and Use
I recently interviewed Mark Bologna of Landfall Navigation. Hes a safety expert, major supporter of safety training and has decades worth of experience selecting...
Rethinking the Use of Inflatable PFDs
In the early 1800s Norwegian sailors started wearing cork filled vests dubbed the Seamans Friend. And over the next two centuries, life jacket design...
Luck and the Urge to Duck
At night, when only the counted seconds between the lightning flash and thunder-crack offer any clue of what is to come, the intertropical convergence...
Prevention Plan for Finger Tendon Injuries
As an avid climber I pay attention to my aches and pains. To blindly ignore them puts myself and others at risk. The same...
Anchoring in Crowded Harbors
Stagger while you anchor? It sounds like Ive either been drinking too much or sailing too long. Bear with me.
It's not easy to see...
Anchoring Legal Responsibility
We often get questions about anchoring rights. While it is commonly understood that the first boat arriving in an anchorage has privileges, many see...
Ditch Kit for Small Sailboats
When we had a larger boat and made offshore hops, conventional ditch bag thinking made sense. But when I downsized to a 24-foot trimaran,...
Ditch Bag for the Daysailer
List (laminated) attached inside each bag, reminding you of what you need, even for day sailing.
Waterproof handheld VHF.
Cell phone in waterproof...
Rescue Safety Lights & Strobes II
A personal rescue strobe is a small signaling light intended to be attached to a PFD so if a boat crew member goes overboard,...
Boat Gas Detectors and False Alarms
Gas detectors are not magic gadgets, quantifying specific chemicals and then alarming when they reach a precise level. Because of the simplicity of the...
Abandon Ship! Coast Guard Rescue Beneteau 523 in the Atlantic
What would cause the captain and crew to abandon ship in the Atlantic ocean? There was no sailboat disaster here, but a coast guard...
Latest Sailboat Review
Catalina 34 Used Boat Review
American sailboat manufacturers have had their highs and lows, and many have dropped right off the map. But Catalina has been going strong for...