Home / News / Features
 
2019 February 7

The islands decimated by two record hurricanes in 2017 are a little worse for wear, but fully back in action for the winter sailing season

It has been a year and a half since Hurricane Irma, the largest hurricane recorded in the Atlantic Ocean, barreled over parts of the Caribbean, leaving a wake of destruction in its path in September 2
2019 February 1

The Golden Rock Regatta’s mix of shoreside fun with casual racing brings sailors back to the Leewards year after year

I have enjoyed a lot of different sailing events, from local regattas to glamorous destinations. Each had its own appeal, but once I’ve been there, done that,  I rarely return because there are new places to explore. But I made an exception for the Golden Rock Regatta, a little-known Caribbean series that is held in November, featuring long-distance races to a smattering of islands: St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, St. Barths and Anguilla. Exhilarating stretches of racing during the day are followed by nightly raft-ups and casual parties. It perfectly combines the thrill of racing with the adventure of exploring a different piece of paradise each night, which has given me the opportunity to forge friendships with other “Rockers” over the years.
2019 February 1

For hardy sailors, the racing season really gets going—and going fast—when freezing temperatures create the perfect iceboating conditions

J.H. Peterson photoPlunging temperatures, bitterly cold winds and rock-hard waterways. Just right for sailing …  that is, if you’ve got a serious need for speed and don’t mind the windburn.
2019 January 1

A pair of friends chase a dream and undertake a two-year restoration of a classic Bluenose sloop

The allure of a Bluenose was always there. We had both owned or sailed a variety of boats in our home waters in the Finger Lakes region of New York and in the British Virgin Islands, everything from L
2019 January 1

By the end of her first sail, Natalie Smith knew she loved sailing and didn’t waste time jumping in with both feet

Mears Point Marina in Grasonville, Maryland, on the Chesapeake’s Eastern Shore is a friendly place, particularly on O-dock, where David and Penny Renoll keep the boats they use in their charter and
2018 November 19

When a massive storm left boats in a solo around-the-world-race crippled and one sailor injured, the world watched a race to rescue

The message send via satellite test was gut wrenching. “Rolled. Dismasted. Severe back injury. Cannot get up.” That was the last message received from 39-year-old Indian solo sailor Abhilash Tom
2018 November 1

SAILING editors pick great gifts for the sailor in your life

 Serious sailors need serious knives, and Spyderco’s Salt Series of knives fits the bill. This sheepfoot-blade one-handed folding knife is impervious to rust and incredibly light with a nonslip
2018 October 12
The death of a sailor who drowned when his life jacket did not inflate during the Chicago Yacht Club’s Race to Mackinac July 21 is being investigated by a committee overseen by the yacht club.
2018 October 1
 One of the largest North Sails lofts in the country has a new home in the heart of freshwater sailing country.A new Detroit-area North Sails loft is open in Warren, Michigan, and will serve the area from Rochester, New York, down the American side of the Great Lakes, as far west as the Michigan-Indiana border. 
ScheduleScheduleSchedule
2018 October 1

It’s boat show season, and this year there is a range of new boats hitting the shows from Newport to Miami. From a fun inflatable dinghy and a foiling racer to comfy cruisers, our editors share some of the exciting new designs.

It’s boat show season, and this year there is a range of new boats hitting the shows from Newport to Miami. From a fun inflatable dinghy and a foiling racer to comfy cruisers, our editors share some of the exciting new designs.
2018 September 1

Solitude and untouched beauty in the Spanish Virgin Islands off Puerto Rico’s east coast make this charter feel like old time Caribbean

Talk to sailors who cruised the British Virgin Islands back in the 1970s and you’ll hear about remote anchorages with no other boats in sight, pristine beaches void of people and a quiet natural beauty that nourished the soul. By the time Twe chartered there for the first time in 2004, the lovely islands had morphed into something different, not better or worse, merely changed by controlled real estate development and a growing number of residents and boats. The BVI, which remains one of our favorite sailing destinations, had become, in a word, commercialized.
2018 September 1

The Sail Like a Girl team celebrates a Race to Alaska win, the first time a monohull has won the race. Race to Alaska photo

They had traveled 750 miles by sea, convinced themselves that they had blown their lead when they had to stop to deal with a log jammed under the boat and worked their legs as much as their brains and yet, as the team of seven woman approached the finish to what is one of the most unusual and captivating races in the world, they damn near missed it.
2018 August 1

Strong winds, blue water and a sense of history keeps sailors coming back to a cluster of lakes in the nation’s heartland

David Thoreson has sailed all over the world, more than 70,000 bluewater miles. But his favorite place to sail is small cluster of lakes tucked in the nation’s heartland known as Okoboji.  “
2018 August 1

One-design classes built around camaraderie offer great competition and even better friendships

The myth that one-design racing produces cut-throat competition doesn’t apply to these classic classes. Head to any of the winter circuit regattas, weeknight races or even the national and world championships and you will find a atmosphere that is more like a family reunion than hard-core battle. Built on the philosophy that sailing is better with friends, and that lending a hand with tuning or rigging tips, these one-design classes are bringing new sailors into the sport with “more-the-merrier” attitudes. 
2018 June 1

Terri and Thomas Sand have gone from learn-to-sail classes to new boat owners planning on sailing off on a world cruise

When Terri and Thomas Sand first started dating in 2013, they didn’t know it would lead to a new love, not just for each other but for sailing. Since then, the couple has made a five-year plan that is taking them from learn to sail classes to sailing off on a world cruise on their brand new cruising catamaran. 
2018 June 1

Six months after hurricanes ripped through the Caribbean, the annual regattas picked up the pieces and carried on

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.
2018 June 1

The best thing about sailing is that there’s always more to be learned. Here are some ideas to start you on your way.

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
2018 June 1

The Golden Globe Race is taking solo sailors nonstop around the world using the same technology that was available when Robin Knox-Johnston sailed the first one in 1968

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.

Perry on Design

  • This raised saloon offshore cruiser offers comfort and performance

  • A family cruiser that has so many interior options there’s sure to be one to suit

  • This gentleman’s skiff takes you sailing fast and comfortable

Advertisement
Advertisement