How to Feel Safe When Bluewater Sailing Safety is paramount when sailing offshore, off the beaten path. We sometimes sail outside of normal cruising routes and shipping lanes. This is sometimes the best pure bluewater sailing experience, but it can also be intimidating or nerve-wracking for...
Sail Plan Considerations The reason we went so long before replacing our existing #2 furling jib (130% Genoa) aboard s/v Sweet Ruca was that we wanted to take our time and think through different sail plan configurations before committing. The sloop rig and sail design onboard...
Sometimes it can be hard to talk about yourself, especially for natural introverts like us. We aren't used to this sort of attention. Linked Article: https://themirrornewspaper.com/aw-graduate-sails-world-documents-adventures/ We are not living in a row of little boxes with a mortgage, car payment, and regular jobs. This makes us...
If you follow our YouTube channel, you have probably noticed that our primary #2 jib (a 130% genoa) was starting to look pretty bad. It was delaminated and figuratively hanging in there by a thread. You could see the sunlight through the stitching, and poke your...
These are calculators and spreadsheets we have created to help us while sailing aboard s/v Sweet Ruca. We are sharing them with you in the hopes that they may help you as well. If you decided to share or modify them for your use, we...
Like many others, we searched for this information before we started cruising. We get asked this question a lot, both online and on the dock, from new cruisers to seasoned vets. Everyone wants to know: is a wind generator on a sailboat is worth the...
What is the best navigation or chart plotter solution for sailboat cruising? Is an iPad with Navionics good enough for bluewater sailing? Are there such things as free charts? What is the best low-cost navigation system? These and other similar questions many ask when beginning to...
OFF THE GRID ON A BOAT We are not dock people. We like to be offshore, moving and sailing with the wind and the waves. Many times though we must sit at anchor to shelter from storms or wait for wind and tide windows for safe passages. At...
We first noticed that our autopilot wasn’t up to the challenge of big winds and big waves on our trip from the Bahamas to St. Thomas. We took off to make the non-stop 700+ mile trip on a January nor’easter to make a downwind dash. We...
