Why won’t my holding tank pump out? Dear Boat Doctor, I am having trouble pumping out my holding tank. The dockside pumps just don’t seem to work very well. I eventually get it pumped, but it ta

We couldn’t resist French Polynesia. Where else can sailors get a two-year visa to explore the very different landscapes of three archipelagos within the same country? In our first nine months we ha

 Gazing at the azure waters of Pirates Bight, where yachts gently bobbed and red battle flags smacked in the breeze, I watched as a small armada of dinghies approached the shore. Their crews alig

There’s no denying the convenience of furling sails for cruising. Code 0s and, more recently, structured luff top-down furling sails with better downwind performance than a code 0 can be game change

The Catana Group is launching its 14th Bali catamaran model, the 5.8, in conjunction with the 10th anniversary of the line. The promo blurb says “always bigger,” and I’m not going to argue with

Sailors have crossed the Atlantic from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean following the trade winds since Christopher Columbus first made land fall. The Atlantic Rally for Cruisers’ Las Palmas to S

No one is more passionate about their version of sailing than a multihull sailor. It is as if they know something that the rest of us are missing. One avid friend has introduced hundreds of guests to

For the better part of the hour before our start in the Chicago Mackinac race, we maneuvered around the starting area with a 200-pound weight at the top of the mast. That weight was a young bow man w

It’s dark. It’s Wednesday. The luminescent hand of my watch points to 30 degrees. It’s 2 a.m. and my mind is spinning. It’s been years since my last offshore race and with a recent health cond

Features  Double the Fun This liveaboard couple opted for a multihull for a world cruise Bringing Home Serene One couple sails their new catamaran home from France in the compa

A big part of sailing is adapting to the conditions you’re in. Making the boat sail efficiently in whatever situation Mother Nature dishes up is part practice and part know-how, but brings with

Unique in the folklore of the Caribbean is the legend that conch is an aphrodisiac, to be consumed regularly and in great quantities. It can be eaten as conch chowder, conch fritters, steamed conch, c

Dear Boat Doctor, I am considering taking my boat from the Great Lakes to the East Coast next season. I can go out via the Erie Canal or the Saint Lawrence Seaway. What are the pros and cons? Joe Wa

It was a Christmas morning decades ago, and I leapt down the stairs to see what was under the tree. But it wasn’t the usual mishmash of large and small packages, bearing the mix of new shirts, belts

I first met Tim Kernan about 20 years ago when he was attending The Landing School of Boatbuilding and Design in Maine, taking its yacht design course. The students are required to complete an in

Dufour is a French builder that has been around as long or longer than I have been designing. Its Arpege model was hugely successful and began life as a half-tonner. This new Dufour is aimed at the cr

Beware the cheap boat. A deal that seems too good to be true probably is. But there are boats that can be excellent bargains if you know what to look for.Boat shopping often starts with a dream boat t

The season of new boat models and cutting-edge gear is here! Manufacturers are showcasing their latest innovations, and SAILING Magazine has you covered. Check out our partners to