https://sailingmagazine.net/articles.sec-114-1-on-the-wind.html Wed, 24 Apr 24 00:00:00 -0400 en hourly 1 https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2551-the-sea-change-that%25E2%2580%2599s-happening-might-not-be-the-big-shift-escapists-think-it-is.html 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...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2541-fitting-out-is-best-when-you-follow-the-10-caswellian-laws.html 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...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2527-trust-the-sailboat-matchmaker-to-find-the-one-you-love.html I’ve developed a reputation among friends as a sailboat matchmaker. It often begins with an irrational text message: “I found an amazing boat. Almost free. Needs work. I should get it, right?” ...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2521-sailors%25E2%2580%2599-reputations-are-built-at-sea-not-by-who-they-are-on-land.html 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...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2508-know-your-competition-on-the-course-and-in-the-community.html Our team—sailing on our midsized boat—has experienced both sides of the looming wind-shadow debate. This is when a big boat in Division 1 is about to overtake a smaller boat in Division 3, and the...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2496-america%25E2%2580%2599s-cup-crew-may-not-be-sailors-at-least-they-are-human-beings.html OK, I promised you no more America’s Cup rants but, hey, you know you can’t trust me. The Cup is a sad, broken, shadow of an event that once enthralled sailors worldwide. How many of us sat up int...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2490-rules-for-thee-but-not-for-me-doesn%25E2%2580%2599t-work-on-the-water.html Five adult sailing students were making their way back to the dock after a couple of hours of drills on a J/24 and two instructors and I were following in a tiny chase boat. We were heading into the �...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2481-sometimes-the-most-important-learn-to-sail-lesson-is-to-play-nice.html In the process of learning to sail, there is one thing that is not often taught yet it is extremely important. It falls somewhere between learning to duck your head on a jibe (ouch) and not getting yo...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2474-some-sailing-myths-need-to-be-busted.html Since sailors are now flying, sail trimmers are now biking and cloud computers are now navigating, it seems appropriate to separate today’s sailing myths from reality. Surprise, everything I’ve li...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2462-practice-makes-perfect-when-an-idiot-with-his-pants-down-goes-overboard.html In World War II, aviators had what they called the “Caterpillar Club.” It was an organization for pilots and aircrews who had “hit the silk” by parachuting out of their damaged aircraft. I’m...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2451-let%25E2%2580%2599s-call-it-learning-to-learn-to-sail-instead.html Interest in sailing saw a remarkable uptick starting in about May of 2020 that hasn’t let up. Google searches for the phrase “How to sail” had been increasing steadily since 2004, but doubled du...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2442-the-america%25E2%2580%2599s-cup-has-moved-so-far-from-the-glory-days-it-might-as-well-be-on-the-moon.html Disclosure: I love sports cars. I’ve loved them since I didn’t have a driver’s license and, since then, I’ve owned them, restored them, raced them and often sworn at them. It’s exactly like ...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2429-survival-suits-torrents-and-other-climate-consequences.html Golf course greens turning tan. Ski jumping off of artificial turf towers. Scuba diving on monochromatic reefs where rainbow coral once grew. Mountaineering to peer into one last crevasse. Climate cha...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2420-bargain-boats-found-in-old-barns-should-star-in-fixer-upper-shows.html As often happens for my musings in this column, three things converged like a perfect storm to make me start thinking. First, being a car nut as well as a boataholic, I visited a friend who is in the ...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2413-sailing-crews-look-a-lot-different-these-days-you-can-thank-diversity.html Every spring we assemble our crew lists for the season and pack key sailing events into our best friend’s calendars. We draw a Venn diagram of teams to race on weeknights and weekends (since not eve...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2403-don%25E2%2580%2599t-waste-good-champagne-to-christen-a-boat-with-a-dreadful-name.html It was a beautiful morning and I was rowing our tender ashore to grab a Sunday paper. I like rowing, and the fiberglass tender is fun for rowing (unlike those baggy gray inflatables), and I didn’t w...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2394-hosting-boats-from-high-tech-to-discarded-relics-boatyards-are-both-playground-and-graveyard.html Vesper’s giant carbon fiber rig towered over the rest of the boats in the yard like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar visiting a kindergarten classroom at nap time. The TP52 glistened in perfect glossy shades of ...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2382-fitting-out-projects-require-an-educated-thumb-just-don%25E2%2580%2599t-varnish-naked.html When it comes to refitting your boat, whether it’s for the upcoming season or to upgrade it in general, I’m happy to report (from more boats than I’ll admit to), that there is one item that does...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2370-much-maligned-runners-have-their-advantages.html Our local fleet champ recently declared that he’s done with sailing. “This is it,” he said. “When this sailboat sells I’m not buying another. Runabouts don’t have runners.” He’s a ter...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2358-slippery-bottoms-are-the-key-to-go-fast-sailing.html We were standing in the yacht club bar after the race when Jon arrived and grabbed my arm. “Were you just feeling her bottom?” he demanded, which turned every ear along the bar into little pointed...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2352-the-weather-you-get-not-the-weather-you-want.html Whenever a newcomer comes to town I usher him or her to our priceless waterfront and we talk sailing. If I see even a flicker of curiosity, I suggest sailing lessons. Our town benefits greatly from on...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2346-trust-what-your-eyes-tell-you-and-you-will-always-know-how-the-wind-is-blowing.html I was considering the 55th anniversary of SAILING, and I asked the question, “What is the one thing that binds all SAILING readers together aside, of course, from great photos and even greater ...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2334-sailors-keep-an-even-keel-crisis-be-damned.html If you’re a child of the 1960s or before, you may recall the first oil embargo when prices spiked and shortages had drivers wasting weekends in line at the gas pump, like we saw in May 2021 on the E...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2328-sailing-affirmations-can-unlock-your-best-self.html She Who Must Be Obeyed is a big believer in affirmations. Until she entered my life one spring vacation many moons ago, I freely admit that I didn’t know what an affirmation was. Or, at least, I did...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2306-hey-racers-the-cruisers-are-coming-tone-it-down.html Sailing can seem bicameral—like a 50/50 Senate—split between racers whose passion is intense competition, strategy and speed, and cruisers seeking fun-in-the-sun and vacations to exotic locales. ...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2295-when-america%25E2%2580%2599s-cup-sailors-suit-up-for-battle-they-ditch-the-topsiders-and-khaki-shorts.html Last weekend, with a fine breeze blowing, I decided to take the Laser out. Me to She Who Must Be Obeyed: “Hey, honey, do you know where my oxygen tank and mouthpiece are?” SWMBO to me: “Where t...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2282-let%25E2%2580%2599s-hope-a-newfound-kind-of-sailing-sticks-around.html Before Covid-19, sailing seemed stuck in place: it was the same boats moored in the same marina sailing to the same destination or starting on the same line and racing the same course against the sa...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2268-the-luxury-of-onboard-showers-can-leave-you-all-wet.html Full disclosure. I love showers. Hot showers. Long, hot showers. I have done some of my best thinking during a leisurely shower, and it reached the point where I installed my own waterproof notepad: a...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2257-how-to-convince-your-teenagers-to-sail-with-you.html The question I’m asked about most often is about family sailing. The scenario differs only slightly: Usually a parent of teenagers aspires to sail in a family group, but can’t convince the kids to...]]> https://sailingmagazine.net/article-2244-paper-charts-hold-secrets-that-modern-gps-units-can%25E2%2580%2599t.html Didn’t you cut it a little close to Point Loma?” my friend Jon said on the phone the other day.   “What are you talking about?” I said. “I’m looking at the course you laid out to cl...]]>