Sailing Magazine - On the Wind https://sailingmagazine.net/articles.sec-114-1-on-the-wind.html Mon, 14 Oct 24 00:00:00 -0400 en hourly 1 The passion for multihulls isn’t waning, it’s just changing https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2598-the-passion-for-multihulls-isn%25E2%2580%2599t-waning-it%25E2%2580%2599s-just-changing.html 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 ...]]> A charter cruise is a gift that keeps on giving https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2585-a-charter-cruise-is-a-gift-that-keeps-on-giving.html 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...]]> Is sailing risky? Not if you believe the data over the actuaries https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2573-is-sailing-risky-not-if-you-believe-the-data-over-the-actuaries.html If you consider the rising costs and barriers to insuring a sailboat, you might think the actuaries see dangers that we sailors can’t see.  But is there any reason to be concerned? One state�...]]> Get off the foils and bring back sailing before it’s lost forever https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2561-get-off-the-foils-and-bring-back-sailing-before-it%25E2%2580%2599s-lost-forever.html Years ago, I was very much into landsailing as well as sailboat racing. Born and raised in California, I was surrounded by dry lakes so hard you could rollerskate on them (people did). On a weekend, y...]]> The sea change that’s happening might not be the big shift escapists think it is https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2551-the-sea-change-that%25E2%2580%2599s-happening-might-not-be-the-big-shift-escapists-think-it-is.html Escapism is built into the human psyche, has genetic and evolutionary roots, and persists in story across the millennia. So the trend to sell everything and sail isn’t new, despite the mob of tan, n...]]> Fitting out is best when you follow the 10 Caswellian Laws https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2541-fitting-out-is-best-when-you-follow-the-10-caswellian-laws.html My dad was an executive for Douglas Aircraft and we lived in Tucson, Arizona, when I was a kid. As a young man, my father had run away to sea, shipping out on tankers and working his way up to navigat...]]> Trust the sailboat matchmaker to find the one you love https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2527-trust-the-sailboat-matchmaker-to-find-the-one-you-love.html I’ve developed a reputation among friends as a sailboat matchmaker. It often begins with an irrational text message: “I found an amazing boat. Almost free. Needs work. I should get it, right?” ...]]> Sailors’ reputations are built at sea not by who they are on land https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2521-sailors%25E2%2580%2599-reputations-are-built-at-sea-not-by-who-they-are-on-land.html My dad was an executive for Douglas Aircraft and we lived in Tucson, Arizona, when I was a kid. As a young man, my father had run away to sea, shipping out on tankers and working his way up to navigat...]]> Know your competition, on the course and in the community https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2508-know-your-competition-on-the-course-and-in-the-community.html Our team—sailing on our midsized boat—has experienced both sides of the looming wind-shadow debate. This is when a big boat in Division 1 is about to overtake a smaller boat in Division 3, and the...]]> America’s Cup crew may not be sailors, at least they are human beings https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2496-america%25E2%2580%2599s-cup-crew-may-not-be-sailors-at-least-they-are-human-beings.html OK, I promised you no more America’s Cup rants but, hey, you know you can’t trust me. The Cup is a sad, broken, shadow of an event that once enthralled sailors worldwide. How many of us sat up int...]]> Rules for thee but not for me doesn’t work on the water https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2490-rules-for-thee-but-not-for-me-doesn%25E2%2580%2599t-work-on-the-water.html Five adult sailing students were making their way back to the dock after a couple of hours of drills on a J/24 and two instructors and I were following in a tiny chase boat. We were heading into the �...]]> Sometimes the most important learn-to-sail lesson is to play nice https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2481-sometimes-the-most-important-learn-to-sail-lesson-is-to-play-nice.html In the process of learning to sail, there is one thing that is not often taught yet it is extremely important. It falls somewhere between learning to duck your head on a jibe (ouch) and not getting yo...]]> Some sailing myths need to be busted https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2474-some-sailing-myths-need-to-be-busted.html Since sailors are now flying, sail trimmers are now biking and cloud computers are now navigating, it seems appropriate to separate today’s sailing myths from reality. Surprise, everything I’ve li...]]> Practice makes perfect when an idiot with his pants down goes overboard https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2462-practice-makes-perfect-when-an-idiot-with-his-pants-down-goes-overboard.html In World War II, aviators had what they called the “Caterpillar Club.” It was an organization for pilots and aircrews who had “hit the silk” by parachuting out of their damaged aircraft. I’m...]]> Let’s call it learning to learn to sail instead https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2451-let%25E2%2580%2599s-call-it-learning-to-learn-to-sail-instead.html Interest in sailing saw a remarkable uptick starting in about May of 2020 that hasn’t let up. Google searches for the phrase “How to sail” had been increasing steadily since 2004, but doubled du...]]> The America’s Cup has moved so far from the glory days it might as well be on the moon https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2442-the-america%25E2%2580%2599s-cup-has-moved-so-far-from-the-glory-days-it-might-as-well-be-on-the-moon.html Disclosure: I love sports cars. I’ve loved them since I didn’t have a driver’s license and, since then, I’ve owned them, restored them, raced them and often sworn at them. It’s exactly like ...]]> Survival suits, torrents and other climate consequences https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2429-survival-suits-torrents-and-other-climate-consequences.html Golf course greens turning tan. Ski jumping off of artificial turf towers. Scuba diving on monochromatic reefs where rainbow coral once grew. Mountaineering to peer into one last crevasse. Climate cha...]]> Bargain boats found in old barns should star in fixer-upper shows https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2420-bargain-boats-found-in-old-barns-should-star-in-fixer-upper-shows.html As often happens for my musings in this column, three things converged like a perfect storm to make me start thinking. First, being a car nut as well as a boataholic, I visited a friend who is in the ...]]> Sailing crews look a lot different these days. You can thank diversity. https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2413-sailing-crews-look-a-lot-different-these-days-you-can-thank-diversity.html Every spring we assemble our crew lists for the season and pack key sailing events into our best friend’s calendars. We draw a Venn diagram of teams to race on weeknights and weekends (since not eve...]]> Don’t waste good champagne to christen a boat with a dreadful name https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2403-don%25E2%2580%2599t-waste-good-champagne-to-christen-a-boat-with-a-dreadful-name.html It was a beautiful morning and I was rowing our tender ashore to grab a Sunday paper. I like rowing, and the fiberglass tender is fun for rowing (unlike those baggy gray inflatables), and I didn’t w...]]> Hosting boats from high-tech to discarded relics, boatyards are both playground and graveyard https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2394-hosting-boats-from-high-tech-to-discarded-relics-boatyards-are-both-playground-and-graveyard.html Vesper’s giant carbon fiber rig towered over the rest of the boats in the yard like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar visiting a kindergarten classroom at nap time. The TP52 glistened in perfect glossy shades of ...]]> Fitting out projects require an educated thumb, just don’t varnish naked https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2382-fitting-out-projects-require-an-educated-thumb-just-don%25E2%2580%2599t-varnish-naked.html When it comes to refitting your boat, whether it’s for the upcoming season or to upgrade it in general, I’m happy to report (from more boats than I’ll admit to), that there is one item that does...]]> Much-maligned runners have their advantages https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2370-much-maligned-runners-have-their-advantages.html Our local fleet champ recently declared that he’s done with sailing. “This is it,” he said. “When this sailboat sells I’m not buying another. Runabouts don’t have runners.” He’s a ter...]]> Slippery bottoms are the key to go-fast sailing https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2358-slippery-bottoms-are-the-key-to-go-fast-sailing.html We were standing in the yacht club bar after the race when Jon arrived and grabbed my arm. “Were you just feeling her bottom?” he demanded, which turned every ear along the bar into little pointed...]]> The weather you get, not the weather you want https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2352-the-weather-you-get-not-the-weather-you-want.html Whenever a newcomer comes to town I usher him or her to our priceless waterfront and we talk sailing. If I see even a flicker of curiosity, I suggest sailing lessons. Our town benefits greatly from on...]]> Trust what your eyes tell you, and you will always know how the wind is blowing https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2346-trust-what-your-eyes-tell-you-and-you-will-always-know-how-the-wind-is-blowing.html I was considering the 55th anniversary of SAILING, and I asked the question, “What is the one thing that binds all SAILING readers together aside, of course, from great photos and even greater ...]]> Sailors keep an even keel, crisis be damned https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2334-sailors-keep-an-even-keel-crisis-be-damned.html If you’re a child of the 1960s or before, you may recall the first oil embargo when prices spiked and shortages had drivers wasting weekends in line at the gas pump, like we saw in May 2021 on the E...]]> Sailing affirmations can unlock your best self https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2328-sailing-affirmations-can-unlock-your-best-self.html She Who Must Be Obeyed is a big believer in affirmations. Until she entered my life one spring vacation many moons ago, I freely admit that I didn’t know what an affirmation was. Or, at least, I did...]]> Hey racers: The cruisers are coming, tone it down https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2306-hey-racers-the-cruisers-are-coming-tone-it-down.html Sailing can seem bicameral—like a 50/50 Senate—split between racers whose passion is intense competition, strategy and speed, and cruisers seeking fun-in-the-sun and vacations to exotic locales. ...]]> When America’s Cup sailors suit up for battle, they ditch the Topsiders and khaki shorts https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2295-when-america%25E2%2580%2599s-cup-sailors-suit-up-for-battle-they-ditch-the-topsiders-and-khaki-shorts.html Last weekend, with a fine breeze blowing, I decided to take the Laser out. Me to She Who Must Be Obeyed: “Hey, honey, do you know where my oxygen tank and mouthpiece are?” SWMBO to me: “Where t...]]>