Research Notes
The 20-knot reef rule I'm writing down before I own the boat
One line about wind pressure being squared changed the number I'm putting on the nav station card.
Passage Planning
I've Taken the Red Sea Off Our Route. The Cape Is the Harder Sail, and That's Fine.
I kept two versions of our Indian Ocean crossing alive for a year. This summer's Red Sea attacks settled it, and the Cape route asks more of the boat than I'd budgeted for.
Research Notes
6.9 per 1,000: the lightning number I didn't want to find
I sat down to read about windlass amp draw and fell into a BoatUS claims-data hole instead — now I can't unsee what it says about multihulls.
Seamanship
Anchoring Fundamentals: Scope, Holding Ground, and the Boring Details That Keep You Put
Most anchoring failures aren't anchor failures. They are scope failures, ground failures, and the lazy version of a perfectly good technique.
Seamanship
Storm Tactics Offshore: Heaving-To, Drogues, and When to Deploy Each
There is no single correct heavy-weather tactic. Picking the wrong one for your boat and sea state is how good crews get into trouble.
Safety
Heavy Weather Tactics: Heaving-To, Running Off, and When to Deploy a Drogue
If you sail far enough, eventually the weather wins a round. The question is not whether you'll meet conditions that exceed the comfortable envelope — it'
Seamanship
Night Watch Routines for Offshore Passages: Systems That Keep Crews Sharp
Ask a dozen offshore sailors about night watch and you'll get twelve different systems. That's not a problem — the best watch schedule is the
Anchoring
Choosing Ground Tackle for Bluewater Cruising: A Practical Guide to Getting It Right
Nothing ends a good cruise faster than a dragged anchor at 0300. Your ground tackle is the single most important piece of safety equipment on a bluewater cruising
Seamanship
The Pre-Passage Rig Check: A Deck-to-Masthead Audit That Catches Failures Before They Find You
The rig is the one system on a bluewater boat that almost never fails politely. A bilge pump dies quietly; a rig failure tends to arrive in a
Seamanship
Heavy Weather Tactics: A Working Framework for Bluewater Storms
Every bluewater sailor eventually meets the storm they planned to avoid. The forecast was wrong, the front intensified, the routing software missed something. When that happens, the difference
gear-review
Raymarine RCU-1 Wireless Autopilot Remote: A Game-Changer for Shorthanded Sailors
Raymarine has finally cut the cord on autopilot remotes with the new RCU-1, a wireless control unit for the Evolution autopilot range scheduled for Q2 2026 release.
Seamanship
Heavy Weather Tactics: Hove-To, Lying Ahull, and Running Off
Sooner or later, every bluewater sailor gets caught in weather they would rather not be in. The decisions you make when the wind is building past 35 knots