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...
7. Software Updates This may sound silly as the first item on the list, but our navigation, comms, and instrument software is vital to our safety. B&Gs software update to the Zues3 MFD and NAC3 autopilot had some important changes. The one we enjoyed the most was...
Luckily we have only had to deal with this issue once aboard SV Sweet Ruca. We sucked up some Sargassum weed in the Bahamas. The problem was caught quickly as we showed a slightly above normal temperature reading. Having had this happen on other boats...
1. It always rains when you leave your hatches open! Never leave your boat without closing the hatches and windows. It is inevitable that it will rain if you leave them open. It only took us one soaking wet couch to learn this. 2. Get the best...
It's been done many times before. Blogs. Videos. Podcasts. About dogs on sailboats. Monohulls. Catamarans. Day cruisers and liveaboards. Should you? Shouldn't you? Young dogs? Old dogs? Big? Small? What's best? What's a big no-no? But ultimately, what's the MOST IMPORTANT THING TO KNOW?!?! The most important...
The following is a quick overview of what we regularly use and reference for weather routing and forecasting. The goal is to put everything in one place. As time allows, I will also be creating a low bandwidth HTML page for satellite use. Eventually, I...
Current Position: 12 2.581 N 61 45.413 W Miles Sailed: 392.1 Average Speed: 7.5 knots Min/Max Wind Speed: 4-38 knots (5-44 mph) We made it safely from USVI to Grenada, despite catching the front end of what was to become TS Isaias (Invest92 or Depression 9 or whatever they...
