What a thrill it brought, pressing my face against a hazy plexiglass airplane window, and seeing whitecaps scattered on the sea from 29,000 feet. Following last year’s tragic season of storms in the Caribbean, I was flying to the British Virgin Islands for the Spring Regatta, which has been bringing sailors to Tortola and the surrounding islands since 1972. As the flight descended through the tropical sky, I began to see the telling signs of destruction. Hundreds of homes were without roofs and scores of boats were askew and aground. But this isn’t a story about destruction. It’s a story about revival, and how sailors are helping bring that about.

In the moments after you realize you have run your boat aground, it’s best to take a deep breath and recite The First Rule of Holes: “When you’re in one, stop digging.” Many of the steps you a

Take a classLenny Shabes photo If you already sail, you might think that your ship has sailed as far as classes go. But learn-to-sail classes are just the tip of the iceberg. Most sailing schools

Just as the Volvo Ocean Race fleet nears the finish line July 1, having zoomed around the world aboard high-tech 65-footers at speeds often exceeding 30 knots, sending high-tech drone video updates of every thrilling moment, 19 solo sailors will leave Les Sables d’Olonne, France, for a nonstop circumnavigation race aboard 30-footers retro-outfitted, meaning no GPS, satellite weather, watermakers, AIS, radars, chartplotters, instruments, autopilots, digital watches or even iPods. These hardy skippers in the Golden Globe Race are going old school on the 50th anniversary of the inaugural race in 1968.

Features  Going old school The Golden Globe skippers are circumnavigating just as Robin Knox-Johnston did 50 years ago How to be a better sailorYou know how to sail, here’s how to 

Dear Boat Doctor, My winches desperately need to be lubricated, and it’s been more than a few years since I’ve done it. A friend told me to use wheel bearing grease but cautioned me not to use it

Longtime readers know that I have a few rants that pop up from time to time, so consider yourself warned. This is going to be one of them. One of my rants has been the late, great, America’s Cup, wh

Jack tars in the Age of Sail were probably better athletes than today’s sailors. If they served before the mast, they had to be in order to survive scampering up the ratlines, crawling out on yards,

When design commissions slow down I like to keep working so I pass the time being my own client and drawing what I think I would like. Recently, when I had some time on my hands, I took my 43-foot car

Dear Boat Doctor, I just bought a new-to-me Beneteau 40 with a PSS dripless prop shaft seal. I appreciate the dry bilge, but those little set screws holding the sealing collar in place make me nervou

There was never any doubt that the tragic story of Donald Crowhurst would have to be included in my book about madness at sea. Of all the stories I researched, it’s the one that has caught the publi

This new Najad is promoted as a “mini superyacht.” That sounds ambitious with 39 feet 4 inches of LOA.  The design is from the Farr office with styling by Ken Freivokh. Most of you will be u

Features  Descent into madness Donald Crowhurst’s story is making it to the big screen in The Mercy 6 things every sailor should know Don’t head out to sea without knowing what t

We’re sailboat shopping. Replacing one beloved family boat with another is a big change, so we’ve spent a lot of time pondering the ideal design. Our wishlist asks that it be:1. Large en

A white yachting hat sporting an anchor badge on the crown and faux admiral’s scrambled eggs on the visor, blue yachting blazer with polished brass buttons, pleated Breton red pants adorned wit

The Oceanis 51.1 is the new queen of the Beneteau Oceanis series. The design is by Berret-Racoupeau Yacht Design with deck and interior by Nauta Design. This is a big boat and it comes with enough opt

You can’t ask for better weather conditions for a boat test. It was 85 degrees with an east-northeast 18-knot wind blowing across Biscayne Bay as I walked out the Key Biscayne Yacht Club docks. All

It was a typical race day on Chesapeake Bay’s Miles River. The wind started out at 12 knots, gusting to 16. But of the 11 Chesapeake log canoes that left the dock at the Miles River Yacht Club for a