Let me share some pages from a yachting magazine from pre and post WWII.
You might even remember some of this!
What is Life Beyond Boating?
Monday Minute - It's Always Something
No matter how much you prepare, there is always something. A young Swedish couple I follow recently sailed from the Big Island in Hawaii to Honolulu. The sail wasn’t pleasant, and in the brisk conditions, they heard a loud bang against their aluminum hull. Turns out they lost their Rocna anchor overboard. The chain had been removed for the trip to keep seawater out of the chain locker, done a million times, but this time, their trusted stainless steel anchor restraint failed.
It’s Always Something.
Monday Minute - What's In Your Dinghy?
Like that credit card commercial, “What’s in Your Dinghy?”
What you carry in your dinghy may make a difference if the unexpected happens. Whether it is a handheld radio, sunscreen, or a working flashlight, it can make an unexpected situation just another cruising adventure instead of something less pleasant.
Monday Minute - A Pilgrimage Not Unlike Cruising
I now savor my first taste of the famed Camino de Santiago pilgrimage in Spain, which last year attracted over 300,000 people from around the world. I purposely did not set any expectations for this walking trip, rather deciding to let it happen and see where it went. I was rewarded with new friends, and an experience that I could never have imagined.
While the last bit of jet lag conspires against me along with a strong allergic reaction to the pollen now covering Annapolis, I am sure this trip will linger on in my daily life as I plan my third act in life.
Monday Minute - Look Out The Window!
It's a Risky World
Monday Minute - A Slick Way to Carry Documents
Times are Changing - Developing Young Craftsmen
The Bucket
Monday Minute - Refresh Your Passing Skills
Stormy Petrel
Cruising with Children
Pam Wall makes a case for the outstanding life choice to cruise with a young family, as she and her husband did in their 39-foot sloop. Whether the vessel is a sailboat or trawler, it can be a life-defining adventure that so totally exchanges today's social media "experience" with the real world in all its diversity and beauty.
Have the Eye of Your Dock Line Work for You
Consider how we tie up our boats to docks when cruising. Transient docks, even temporarily for fuel and provisioning, should not be the place to lose control over our boats, which we do when we throw our dock lines to someone on the dock, who may or may not be experienced to know what to do to keep our boat safe.
Getting Ready for the Next Generation of FollowingSeas
Monday Minute - Cruising to Stay Close
The struggles of many of today's young parents are quite a contrast to the families who choose to take the family and go cruising. The dynamics of living and working together on a boat are more intimate and focused than the hurried routines of family life ashore.
Perhaps more people could benefit from the synergy of living together aboard a boat.
Monday Minute - Summary of the Navy's Official Incident Review
We've heard the unbelievable reports of Navy warships colliding with merchant ships, with loss of life among the Navy crew. How can this happen in our modern world, with all of the technology and control systems at our disposal!?!
Here is a comprehensive review of the four recent incidents in 2017, which reveal amazing issues and problems to be addressed at all levels. Reading these summary review findings gives insight into the complexity of today's warships.
And please take away from this that the initial fears of Russian cyberattacks did not occur, yet such a threat adds a chilling, what-if component to the reported scenarios.
This is serious business in a world that is increasingly dangerous, with threats we have yet to experience.
It’s been a long time coming but we now see tangible progress emerging to reduce our dependence on fossil fuel. If the U.S. Navy can prove that it works, isn’t it about time the concept of the modern cruising boat includes hybrid forms of propulsion?