This summer we set sail once again, but this voyage was a little different for two reasons. Firstly, this would be our first extended voyage together aboard one boat. During our previous journey to the Bahamas, we each sailed solo, side-by-side, aboard two separate boats. Second, our destination this time was not a specific harbor. It wasn’t even a fixed location. Instead, we were on a quest to see something roving, something whose location can only be described in one word: north. We wanted to see an iceberg and it didn’t matter how far north we needed to travel to do so. We were northbound, bound for…well…north.

We looked forward to departing Long Island. After all, the water is always bluer on the other side, and Long Island was experiencing a blistering heat wave. I (Teresa) was cranky from the heat and being steeped in my own sweat. On June 8, replete with all the equipment necessary for making an independent film, a motley crew of four boarded Elizabeth, a 28-foot Bristol Channel Cutter. We shared command of the vessel. Dory the cat kept our feet warm at night. Chris Rodriguez, the Director of Photography from Doctrine Creative, had never been sailing before, but his job was to document on film the truth about living aboard, voyaging on a small vessel, and the quest to find an iceberg. None of us could prognosticate what our summer would actually be like, but we were all ready for the adventure of a lifetime.

The fall hauling season is well underway and it’s time to finalize the lay up of your boat. This is the best time to have a long look at your systems to see what might need replacement prior to spring commissioning. Many boatyards (even the ones that are ‘full-service’) need to outsource repairs from time to time. When the seal on the hydraulic ram for your backstay fails, sending the job out for repair with a specialist is in everyone’s best interest. Start planning ahead for the projects that you need, or want to have done on the boat. Here are a few pointers for dealing with your local yard or service department. 

The Basics of Winterizing Your Diesel Engine and its Components

Decommissioning your boat consists of a number of different activities, but none is quite as important as properly preparing your engine for the harsh winter months. And if this winter weather behaves anything like last year, you can be sure your engine will need all the protection you can give it. We have compiled some basic winterizing tips to ensure that the big chill will have no ill effects on your auxiliary.

The night before we left on our first long cruise, I told my fellow Scouts that we had done all the planning we could do, and it was likely a few things would go wrong, but that it was all part of the adventure. Five days later, as I was towing a broken down sailboat with three dinghies, I knew that I was right – things did go wrong – but what an awesome adventure!

I am a crew leader in Sea Scout Ship 584 in Groton, CT. Sea Scouts has been around for 99 years, but not very many people know about us. Sea Scouts is part of the Boy Scouts of America, and it’s a co-ed program for youths 14 to 20 years of age. Our activities center around maritime activities, and Ship 584 does mostly sailing. 

Much more than just a waypoint for boats entering Long Island Sound from the south or southbound boats preparing to navigate Hell Gate in the East River, City Island, NY is a unique, fascinating destination in its own right.Many have likened City Island to a New England fishing village, and while it is a part of New York City, it moves to its own beat. Connected to Rodman Neck in the Bronx by a bridge, this small island (approximately a mile-and-ahalf long by half a mile wide) is only 12 miles from midtown Manhattan, but when you’re relaxing on a porch at one of the island’s yacht clubs, it’s easy to imagine that you’re much further – in both place and time – away.

Why not make learning to sail an integral part of your winter vacation?

Whether you want to take your racing to the next level or earn your bareboat charter certification, you’ll find a variety of options from sailing schools and charter companies on these pages.

Best of all, your classroom could be a boat in the enticing waters of such places as Captiva Island, Key West, the Abacos, the British Virgin Islands, St. Maarten and St. Vincent and The Grenadines.

New York Yacht Club (NYYC), which hadn’t visited New London since 1968, was treated to a “YachtingWeekend” to coincide with their 155th Annual Cruise. NYYC made a special visit to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, which was the start of the cruise for the fleet of over 100 yachts and their tenders. NYYC reached out to the Thames America’s Cup Committee (TACC), a New London-based non-profit organization that is working to bring top-level yacht racing to New London, to help organize the events.