Sail Far Live Free

Let's say winter's chill was something you could no longer take as a Great Lakes sailor. Or perhaps you just want to extend your sailing season beyond the boundaries of summer. What options do you have?  You could just opt for a bareboat charter somewhere in the Caribbean and consider the itch scratched. But then you'd miss out on all the adventure of moving a boat between the Great Lakes and the Caribbean. And you wouldn't be sailing  your  boat. I'm here to convince you that the best option is to sail your own boat south. What follows is an overview of the route you could take to get you and your boat to warmer water and weather from the Great Lakes. Route 1: St. Lawrence Seaway (including Lake Champlain shortcut) You're adventurous if you choose this route. From most starting locations in the Great Lakes, you'll also be seeing the most scenery and passing the

Looking out at Penobscot Bay from Camden, Maine (by K. Walters) I've read a lot of great books.  Almost all of my favorites are non-fiction works that either tell the story of someone's journey, document an adventure, describe the science behind a natural phenomenon, or give a look into a historical event.   Time of Wonder  by Robert McCloskey is a fiction book that does none of the above.  In fact, it's a children's book.  But it also happens to be my very favorite children's book.  I've read it with my daughters on many occasions and it still makes our senses and our minds come alive.   McCloskey weaves a tale of a summer spent at the family cottage on an island in Maine's incredibly beautiful Penobscot Bay.  You follow the siblings in the story like their shadow as they listen to a rain approaching the shore, as they spend a foggy morning on the edge of nowhere, and as they sail near "porpoises puffing".  The idyllic summer begins to

If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video (with pictures embedded!) must be worth at least a million.  Now that all the excitement from the  trailer to our latest movie  has built, we present to you the full feature film... Journey to the North Channel .  (You did watch the trailer, right!?) Grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the show in full HD! (Click the full-screen icon in the lower right corner of the video player for a bigger picture.)

Sailing vessel Guppy  has made landfall (in case you haven't already heard)!  And her captain, Laura Dekker, is now the youngest person to have circumnavigated the Earth single-handed.  Laura completed her circumnavigation on January 21, 2012 in Simpson Bay on Sint Maarten.  I've written before  about sailing records and my mixed emotions when it comes to young sailors (Laura set out when she was just 15 years old!) and these mind-blowing attempts.  The bottom line is that I couldn't possibly support such an attempt by one of my own daughters.  But if I'm completely honest, there's also a part of me that is majorly impressed with Laura's accomplishment. Here's a bit from Laura's blog about the end of her amazing journey: "The dark and starry night sky slowly vanishes its floating lights sprinkling to dust as small islands appear on the horizon. I can see Sint Maarten very far in the distance. St. Eustatius is behind me, Saba is abeam and St. Ba

Sailing vessel Island Bound running before the wind  under her sunny spinnaker As you've probably gathered if you've been feeling the rhythm of this blog, I like to occasionally interject sailing-related quotes. Though the words in the quotes are not my own, most all have inspired me to write, to think, and to reflect. Words have the power to take our minds on a journey to another place and another time. This morning I made the mistake of watching the Saturday news. The opening four stories featured war (nuclear weapon "achievements" in Iran), murder (the Powell tragedy in Utah), religion feuding with government (contraception and the Catholic church), and child abuse (Sandusky molestation trial). "Kids, cover your eyes and ears, dad needs to find the off button!" How very thankful I am that there isn't a television cable long enough to reach my little sloop when she leaves the chaos of the shore. And so today I bring you this quote... "Ther

Sailing wouldn't mean nearly as much to me if I couldn't share the joy that it brings me with my children.  In fact, when I sail with my kids, the two biggest joy-producers in my life collide to create my fondest memories.  I guess I'm lucky that my kids love sailing nearly as much as I do.  I've been told that a teenage day may come when they'd rather be somewhere other than harnessing the wind with dear old dad.  But until that day comes, you can bet I won't be leaving the dock without them.  Anyone else with kids knows that cruising and sailing takes a few special considerations to accomodate their needs.  What follows are my tips for cruising with kids on board. Use jacklines, harnesses and tethers .  Safety is a major consideration whenever you sail with kids, but what exactly do you need to do differently?  If we're cruising, we typically have our jacklines installed on deck, even if the kids aren't with us.  But when they are with us, the rule

Seems like a lot of my recent blog posts have focused on navigation and reviews of navigational equipment, so I thought it might be a good time to interject another quote.  This one is from Frank Bama, a fictional character in Jimmy Buffett's novel titled Where is Joe Merchant? "The best navigators are not quite sure where they're going until they get there." Well said, don't you think?  Sailors understand that life is all about the journey, not the destination.  Apparently, Frank Bama gets it too.  What would happen if we all focused a bit more on where we are instead of where we are going? And in honor of the mid-winter warmth we're getting here in the Great Lakes, I'm posting the following warming picture: February sunrise in St. Kitts (photo by K. Walters)

Automatic identification systems (AIS) have been catching on with recreational boaters and cruisers over the last several years.  While commercial ships have used the system for many years, the technology has been becoming more affordable for smaller private vessels.  If you haven't heard of AIS, it's essentially an automatic tracking system used to identify and locate vessels by digitally exchanging data with other nearby vessels and base stations.  Data often includes vessel position, heading, speed, destination, and a variety of other information.  AIS systems can't replace a good on-deck watch or radar for collision avoidance, but they do offer a reasonable supplement. AIS Overview from the International Maritime Organization As a recreational user, you have basically two options: 1) Purchase an AIS receiver that allows you to accept and view AIS data from other vessels , but does not transmit your own data; or 2) Purchase AIS equipment that allows you to rece