Handheld Horns & Whistles
The US Coast Guard requires boats to carry a "sound-signaling appliance." Referred to in the navigation rules only as "whistles," on small...
Which Sunscreen?
Not so many years ago (or so we'd like to believe) getting a tan was a good thing, whether it was a...
Offshore Log: Check Your Lifelines, Save Your Life
Last month we looked at portable safety equipment designed to keep you aboard your boat, or retrieve you if you go overboard. This month,...
Offshore Log: Man Overboard!
The year 2002 has been a bad year for man-overboard incidents aboard racing sailboats. In May, professional sailor Jamie Boeckel was lost off the...
Navigation Software Update
It seems that every time we look around, someone has introduced a new charting/navigation program for laptop computers. While they all do essentially the...
Offshore Log: The Reefing Staysail
One lesson we learned during our circumnavigation was the danger of the dogmatic approach to almost anything, from the choice of a boat to...
CO Detectors
It's been four and a half years since we last looked at carbon monoxide detectors (CO detectors). Since then much has changed with respect...
First-Class Aid For First-Aid Kits
It all packs securely, refills and all, in a well-made, compartmented canvas bag that has the System O2 embroidered label and, in even larger...
You Pays Your Money…
Serious sailors often have line items in their annual sailing budgets for winter chartering. Nothing quite makes the blood flow like the anticipation of...
Offshore Log: Setting Up a Maintenance Program
When the Volvo Ocean Race fleet arrives in port after every leg, shore crews swarm over the boats at the same time the sailing...