Dear Boat Doctor,I bought an asymmetrical spinnaker this season. We are figuring out the sail but continue to struggle with one aspect. We fly the sail from a block mounted on the anchor roller. This

Years ago, I was very much into landsailing as well as sailboat racing. Born and raised in California, I was surrounded by dry lakes so hard you could rollerskate on them (people did). On a weekend, y

I try to stay out of trouble writing this column. I avoid taking stands on issues that might cause gastric distress among readers. I never touch politics, the deadly third rail of discourse. I wr

Features Back to schoolStudents share the experiences that have made them full-fledged sailorsThe little boat that definitely couldThe owner of high-tech racers finds a delightful chall

It was a brisk autumn day, which also meant there was wind. That isn’t always the case on the Chesapeake Bay, and I was looking forward to sailing in the best conditions I’d seen all week. The day

Rope, line, cordage, whatever you call it, has been with us since the beginning of sailing time. To put a piece of rope to use, you must attach it to something, which often requires a knot. The body o

When Yves-Marie, Chuck and I left Dick Carter’s tower in Nahant, Massachusetts, to try it on our own I don’t think either of us knew where the future would take us in the world of yacht design. We

It’s hard to find interesting designs for review these days. So this month I thought we’d try a little different approach. In early 1973 I quit my design job in Seattle, loaded my Peugeot wagon an

The Beneteau First series has a long history and proud pedigree. Launched in the late 1970s, Beneteau First designs have collected wins all over the globe. Over time, the design ethos wavered a bit, b

Features  Sailor’s delight A return trip to the British Virgin Islands designed to maximizing sailing miles is a panacea for a group of northern sailors Escape from the madding cro

We were sailing on a reach, a stiff 25-knot trade wind filling our sails and kicking up whitecaps across the teal water. Behind us, the dark form of islands rising from the water slowly retreated and,

It’s another beautiful weekend; the wind is steady at 8 to 10 knots, the water is calm, the boat is rigged, and your friends just called to say they can’t make it this afternoon. You ask yourself,

Dear Boat Doctor, I have been battling leaks in my deck hatches for years. First I thought there was a leak around the plastic lens, so I removed and resealed it. When it still leaked I replaced the

Escapism is built into the human psyche, has genetic and evolutionary roots, and persists in story across the millennia. So the trend to sell everything and sail isn’t new, despite the mob of tan, n

The first time I anchored in one of Jost Van Dyke’s perfect natural harbors, our boat shared the anchorage with only one other, a small, privately owned sloop. When I returned to the British Virgin

 Charter sailors who fly into St. Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands, and quickly hustle to the ferry dock to catch a ride to the BVIs don’t know what they are missing. From Christmas C

Dear Boat Doctor, My new-to-me boat has a keel-stepped mast. I’m happy to have it, but I cannot get the mast-to-deck joint to stop leaking. Even in a gentle rain, I find water dripping into my salo

My dad was an executive for Douglas Aircraft and we lived in Tucson, Arizona, when I was a kid. As a young man, my father had run away to sea, shipping out on tankers and working his way up to navigat