Havana Perspectives
Do they check your boat when you go back to America?They do, I said, though I had no idea if anyone did. And I...
Spring Lines for Storm Preparedness
A well-secured boat in the best-designed marina can't be expected to survive a direct hit from a hurricane. Major boat-insurance companies recommend hauling out...
Tips for Riding Out the Storm in Your Marina
Practical Sailor has covered storm preparation on several occasions. The two most extensive articles appeared in July 2008 Gear for Battening Down Ahead of...
Raising the Bar on Lifelines
Lifelines are often disparaged as nothing more than tripping hazards, mounted so far below our center of gravity that they are more likely to...
Requirements for Pressure-testing Life Rafts
I have read several articles about life-raft inspections, but no article has stated how long a raft should be inflated to check for leaks...
Hitches to Grip Anchor Chain
When researching Changing Views on Chain Hooks (see PS, March 2016 online), we were surprised to discover that some chain hooks greatly reduced the...
Resources for Cruising to Cuba
Although Cuba is terra incognita for many Americans, it has been a popular destination for Canadian and European cruisers for more than a decade....
Cuba Trip and a Sailors Musings
Plans are shaping up for my first passage to Cuba this summer, and already, Ive been getting some flack from the friends and family...
In the Perfect Position to Fail
For centuries, navigators have been coping with two key variables that convey major consequence. The first is the quest for an accurate position fix,...
USCG Now Allows Digital Instead of Print Charts
Heralding in a new era for electronic navigation, the U.S. Coast Guard recently published guidance that allows mariners to satisfy chart-carriage requirements using electronic...
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...