Sail Far Live Free

If there's one thing that a snowy day in the deep of winter provides, it's time indoors to create things like the movie trailer below that we put together this morning while watching it snow.  Enjoy!

Wind Dancer reaching to the horizon (Photo by K. Walters) I was recently contacted by a reader requesting recommendations for crewing opportunities on the Great Lakes for the upcoming season.  Since I'm sure she isn't the only one looking to catch a ride on OPB's (other people's boats) here in the Great Lakes, I thought I'd share my recommendations in this blog post. My first recommendation for those with a hunger for adventure is to check the crew opportunities for the Chicago to Mackinac race .  You've probably heard of the race.  Maybe some of you have even sailed in a Mac race.  But for those who haven't, I know first hand that there are plenty of opportunities for both crew and media (writer/photographer) ride alongs.  Obviously your chances of scoring a crew position on one of the boats is greatly increased if you have race experience, but some captains/boats are willing to coach newbies and provide a thrilling learning experience.  Remember, th

Afloat and waiting in Bonaire (Photo credit: K. Walters) Do any of you feel a deep, tethered attachment to the water?  Does your spirit fly highest when your feet are wet?  I've been thinking since my last post about how to put to words what it is about water that seems to keep me driven and inspired.  But the answer is either so complex or so simple that it escapes me.  Suffice it to say, water has power in my life.  Consider the following quote from Isak Dinesen (one of several pen names for Karen Blixen): "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears or the sea." When has life ever thrown something at us that we can't handle with a good dose of hard work (salty sweat), a hard cry (salty tears), or a trip to open water (salty sea)?  Is it any coincidence that more than half our body weight is composed of water?  The Earth's surface is about 70% water.  We are literally surrounded by water.  I, for one, intend to explore as much of it as I can.

Ever restored an old sailboat?  If you have, you know how therapeutic in can be.  Have plans to do so?  What follows are my tips to make the project more enjoyable and successful.  (This blog post is adapted from an article of mine that appeared in the January/February 2012 issue of Good Old Boat magazine .) I first got into sailing by restoring a 1972 Helms 25 swing keel.  I'm not particularly handy, nor did I have boat restoration experience at the time.  In fact, restoring a sailboat wasn't "Plan A" for getting into the sailing and cruising lifestyle.  However, sometimes the winds of life (and budgets!) don't blow from behind and we can't sail downwind to our future.  Instead, we've got to trim the sails and figure out how to make progress towards our windward goals.  And so, I picked up a $400 project boat and started to teach myself about restoration.  Hopefully you'll some of the tips below useful for your own project. Document the proce

Have you ever been told that you can accomplish anything you can dream up if you have a positive attitude?  I recently read an anonymous quote that restates the concept in mathematical terms... "Your net worth equals your dreams minus your doubts."   My simple resolution for 2012 is to keep my net worth out of the red and firmly in the black.  I'm resolved to having dreams that are heavier than doubts. Hibernating mooring balls on Muskegon Lake, MI. (photo by K. Walters)

Can chart plotting and navigation on the iPad replace more traditional marine electronics?  I've been using a combination of electronic devices for navigation over the last couple of seasons and thought now would be a good time to review one of my favorites, Navionics HD for iOS on the iPad 2 . For reviews of another great mobile chartplotter app, see my review of MotionX GPS . I have traditionally used a Garmin GPSMap 76cs Plus handheld plotting GPS and more recently added a netbook computer running the free OpenCPN chartplotter software tethered to the Garmin.  You can see this system in action here .  More recently, I've put the Garmin in a back-up role and begun using the Navionics HD app for iOS on my iPad 2, along with a suite of  other great navigation and sailing apps . Chart screenshot from Navionics HD Let's get some iPad basics out the way first.  The iPad's size, touchscreen and brilliant display are excellent for looking at charts.  However, t

 Snow blob  We finally got some accumulating snow here in the Great Lakes , which has got me looking at pictures and videos from sailing seasons gone by. Multimedia has a remarkable way of changing my mental climate like a fast approaching low pressure system out on the water.  So to contrast the first picture and give myself and excuse to try out iMovie for iOS on the iPad, I whipped up the following video.  Take a quick one minute sail aboard  Island Bound ...

I was once told by an old salt that you can't really claim to have any gunkhole experience until you've run your sailboat aground.   I'm not sure I agree with his statement, but it did force me to think about my course of action if I ever do run aground. Photo Credit: Jeff Chew / AP Depending on where you sail, running aground can be the result of several mostly avoidable circumstances.   First and foremost, it is imperative to know the accurate draft of your vessel, even under different crew and cargo situations.   Secondly, you need to know as much as you can about the water you're sailing in.   That means having some combination of a reliable depth sounder, quality charts, local knowledge (tides, currents, etc.), and experience.     However, even the best and most prepared captains can make mistakes.   Running aground can be embarrassing at the least and downright dangerous to boat and crew at the worst.   If you do run aground, remain calm.   Your first priority

I originally planned to make a blog post about the “ 10 Best Sailors ” , but I quickly realized I ’ m in no way qualified to assemble such a list.   However, I can confidently say which famous sailors have most influenced and inspired my own life.   My list focuses on famous sailors known to many.   Truth be told, there are many more ordinary “ everyday Joe/Jane ” type sailors who have inspired me every bit as much as those in my list below, but they ’ ll be the topic of a future blog post.   And so, I present to you my personal list of the World ’ s Top Ten Most Inspirational Sailors.     10) Francis Chichester : The favored route around the world by cruisers today is by far the east-to-west "milk run" that roughly follows the trade winds near the equator.   Chichester instead sailed solo around the world from west-to-east in 1967, rounding all of the great capes (Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin, and Cape Horn) via the "clipper ship route".   Not only does t

The following is a reprint of one my articles that was recently published in Good Old Boat magazine (November/December 2011 issue - Thanks Karen!).   I originally titled the article “Awakening from a Cruiser’s Dream”, but the editors went with “A Cruise Feeds the Soul”.   Some of you may have already read this article in the magazine, but it’s some of my most inspired and honest writing so I wanted to also share it here on my website. A CRUISE FEEDS THE SOUL By Kevin Walters The docklines are once again tied and my feet plod once more on solid ground.   My body is back in port, but I don’t know if my sailor’s soul will ever make it back to the dock.   Perfectly peaceful anchorage in Baie Fine, Ontario Before we left, I did my research.   I read all I could and talked to everyone who would share their experiences about the pros and cons of taking an extended cruise on a small sailboat.   Now that we’ve returned, I realize most weren’t honest about the most difficult part of cruis