How-to: Seamanship

Barcarolle on the beach. Photo by Kimball Livingston At the risk of writing about an incident I did not witness— I fear I know all too much, minus the details, about what happened to the Ranger 33 that sailed itself onto China Beach late Sunday afternoon, without the two sailors who had earlier departed Pillar Point Harbor [...] …Read More

In San Francisco today, Mayor Gavin Newsom’s office released a resolution passed by the Bay Conservation and Development Commission supporting an America’s Cup match on San Francisco Bay. Wow. This is huge. The Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) is on the list of government agencies where I imagined that AC-N-SF could founder. We owe a [...] …Read More

I’m grateful to have America’s Cup out of the courts and moving toward, I hope, a dynamic, historic 34th match, but a new email exchange confirms that for one man, it’s not over. That would be Jaume Soler, the Spanish Olympic sailor and journalist who broke the truth about the faked-up Club Náutico Español de [...] …Read More

Once in a while you will be called on to tow someone home, and karma dictates that you oblige. …Read More

I’d planned to let the blog sit idle today, but after this morning’s fishing trip I just had to jump on and mention how to NOT sink your boat, because the one I just stepped off of had a stealth danger that most folks never think about. In fact, we were boarded by the Coast Guard [...] …Read More

I’m in the middle of reading my galley review copy of Deadliest Sea, a new book due out on June 1st. It’s about the sinking of the Alaska Ranger in the Bering Sea in 2008, and the rescue efforts by the Coast Guard. I plan to do a full review soon. But, getting into it, I [...] …Read More

Sea Sense has added single-engine trawler training on Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis, MD.  These new courses are both the traditional scheduled classes for women as well as customized instructional charters for couples, families, and groups.  Training is conducted aboard a new, 47-foot Selene trawler, fully equipped from galley to flybridge with every modern amenity. You [...] …Read More

Sea Sense has added single-engine trawler training on Chesapeake Bay from Annapolis, MD.  These new courses are both the traditional scheduled classes for women as well as customized instructional charters for couples, families, and groups.  Training is conducted aboard a new, 47-foot Selene trawler, fully equipped from galley to flybridge with every modern amenity. You [...] …Read More

I’ve been looking for a reason to have to get an iPad and I think now I’ve found it. In his latest on-the-road blog entry, Jeff Siegel of ActiveCaptain demonstrates how well the software works on the new tablet platform from Apple. Regular readers know I’m a big fan of ActiveCaptain — I use it [...] …Read More

The sail training barque Picton Castle, a square-rigger registered in the Cook Islands and based in Lunenburg Harbor, Nova Scotia, is about to depart its mooring and head off on its fifth circumnavigation. The 14-month, westbound trip will sail through the tropics under the command of its first and only captain, Daniel Moreland. Some 44 trainees [...] …Read More