Category: Sailing Tips
Don’t Be That Captain: Know The Rules, Use Common Sense, Stay Collision Free
August 7th, 2025 by team
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Every summer we hear stories about tragic mishaps on the water, sometimes with loss of life, serious injuries, or lost boats and property damage. And all of us who have spent much time on the water have had at least one of those scary “what was that guy thinking?” moments […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) For people coming to sailing later in life, there are a lot of ways to learn to sail. The more common thought is that bigger boats are more stable and less challenging to learn on. But are they the best way to learn? And what do we mean by “later […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Years ago when we had a new-to-us boat and new-to-us children, my wife and I found ourselves in a quandary. How can we sail a boat that’s ten feet longer than our last with a toddler and a new baby to tend at the same time? We needed all hands […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) “Believe me, my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” Water rat, from The Wind in the Willows Over the winter we started a Boating for Beginners series for the boating-curious about how to get out […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Catamarans – both power and sail – have made a dramatic leap in popularity over the last decade. They combine the ease of powering with capacious internal volume and plush living quarters. Add in a decent turn of speed and some fuel efficiency, and what’s not to love? Well…there’s all […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Read Part I Part II and Part III For our next installation on electricity basics, we’re going to discuss keeping you and your boat’s electrical system safe. We live with electricity every single day on land, and we think nothing of turning on a light switch, running a microwave, or plugging […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Years ago, when I was first learning to race sailboats, one of the top sailors in our fleet took a deep swing in towards shore during a race. I stayed out in the middle of the bay, because I liked the wind where I was and thought it would hold […]
Electricity Part III Read Part I and Part II by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) One of the biggest battles at the end of the 19th century was the choice of power type for distribution as electricity became more common in household and business use. The “Current Wars” featured Thomas Edison championing direct current against alternating […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Back in January in an earlier installment of our “Boating for Beginners” series, we talked about going to your first boat show. And specifically, we strongly suggested you avoid buying a boat before you really know what you wanted to use it for. There are a lot of different boats […]
by B.J. Porter (Contributing Editor) Last year, we started talking about aids to navigation and discussed lateral marks and the coloring, shape, and sounds used to identify them. Lateral marks are the most common marks you will find in your local waters, but there are many other aids and marks you may come across to […]
