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Winter is not over yet | Ep. 159
How to Sail Oceans

Winter is not over yet | Ep. 159

Up at first light to begin the 45-mile sail to Key Biscayne from Key Largo, and I am rewarded with near perfect sailing conditions. One would never guess that a strong cold front is less than 24 hours away, putting me under some pressure to locate a decent anchoring spot. And the front does not d...
The patient sailor gets a fair wind | Ep. 158
How to Sail Oceans

The patient sailor gets a fair wind | Ep. 158

Moderate to fresh easterlies persist while my next destinations all lay to the east and north. So my anchor remains buried in the mud of Newfound Harbor for over a week. But the patience pays off and I am rewarded with a pleasant sail to Marathon, FL, and then on to Rodriguez Key. HOW TO SAIL O...
What Scares a Sailor | Ep. 157
How to Sail Oceans

What Scares a Sailor | Ep. 157

Five miles from the entrance to Newfound Harbor and I am hit with a ferocious squall. I decide to temporarily drop anchor to ride it out, but that turns out to be a mistake and I nearly lose my ground tackle. Some days later when the winds subside I return to Key West. HOW TO SAIL OCEANS TEE SHIR...
Smooth sailing from the Dry Tortugas … mostly | Ep. 156
How to Sail Oceans

Smooth sailing from the Dry Tortugas … mostly | Ep. 156

Would have liked to spend another day or two in the Dry Tortugas, but alas the weather gods do abide sailors' wishes. As it was I had about 24 hours to return to civilization before the next cold front. While the cold front was not forecast to be particularly severe, it was to usher in nearly...
The Dry Tortugas (finally!)
How to Sail Oceans

The Dry Tortugas (finally!)

I return to Key West for provisions and fresh water. Following the passage of another cold front, I finally set off for the Dry Tortugas during the late afternoon, planning to do the 60-mile run overnight. As the Dry Tortugas do not offer much shelter for small craft, and the fact that any other d...
When the weather rules your life
How to Sail Oceans

When the weather rules your life

Off to the Dry Tortugas! However, an imminent strong cold front obliges me to stop in Boca Grande Key, where I set out two anchors and hang on. The trailing winds behind the front have me waylaid there for several days, as it turns out, so I decide to return to Key West to re-provision--and regro...
Key West and Beyond
How to Sail Oceans

Key West and Beyond

I finally return to civilization upon reaching Key West, Florida. This will be the staging place for my trip out to the Dry Tortugas. However, on the weather maps is (yet another) very strong cold front, which I decide to weather in Boca Grande Key. From there I intend to carry on to the Dry Tor...
Fun in the Florida Keys
How to Sail Oceans

Fun in the Florida Keys

An approaching strong cold front obliges me to depart Marathon in search of a more sheltered spot, which turns out to be Newfound Harbor. The front does not disappoint. Under more clement conditions I attempt to land my dinghy in the mangroves and walk to the Winn Dixie supermarket for some fresh ...
To the Florida Keys!
How to Sail Oceans

To the Florida Keys!

I wanted to get an early start for the 80-mile trip from Miami to Marathon, but was awakened much earlier than desired by a drifting sailboat which happened to drift down on top of me around 0400. Then much time was spent tacking out of the Old Florida Channel before I could finally get on course d...
Baby Ruth is in sick bay
How to Sail Oceans

Baby Ruth is in sick bay

After weathering the passage of a cold front, I take a short sail across Biscayne Bay to get to a water tap. Then it's back to Key Biscayne to tackle a repair job on Baby Ruth, my 8' Fatty Knees dinghy. HOW TO SAIL OCEANS TEE SHIRT: WEBSITE: DONATE: MUSIC: August Rain--Kevin B...
Virginia to Florida in one go, December 2021, passage conclusion
How to Sail Oceans

Virginia to Florida in one go, December 2021, passage conclusion

Well no one else is posting content over the holidays, so you may as well tune in here ... the passage over the Bahama Bank and then back across the Gulf Stream offers much variety to offset the tedium of a typical ocean passage. On the other hand, and especially for a solo sailor, it means little ...
Thunderstorms, calms, headwinds, the sailor’s life
How to Sail Oceans

Thunderstorms, calms, headwinds, the sailor’s life

Breathing a sigh of relief to be southeast of the Gulf Stream and in warmer waters, the hard part of the passage should be over. But the sea gods never seem to like sailors living lives of ease, so they throw in things like cloud-to-sea lightning strikes to scare the living daylights out of us, per...
It’s nearly December, time to head south
How to Sail Oceans

It’s nearly December, time to head south

Nighttime temperatures are falling below freezing here on the Chesapeake Bay, making life uncomfortable for a small boat sailor. Even with a diesel heater. But then we live on ocean sailing craft precisely because we can migrate to warmer waters ... HOW TO SAIL OCEANS TEE SHIRT: WEBSITE: T...
Rig test; Iridium GO; finding a southbound lane
How to Sail Oceans

Rig test; Iridium GO; finding a southbound lane

While strong winds and cold temperatures descend upon the Chesapeake Bay, I am still testing out my new Dynice Dux rigging. This involves a sail up to Cartegena Creek on the Potomac river and then back to Deltaville, a trip of approximately 90 miles. In preparation for the offshore hop south, I ge...
Tuning the Rig
How to Sail Oceans

Tuning the Rig

I decide to replace my lower shrouds with Dynice Dux before heading south, not wishing to push my luck with the 30+ year-old wire shrouds. Of course it's never so simple. Progress is hampered by inclement weather, and the fact that the Colligo thimbles for 7mm Dux and a 1/2" pin will not...
Never Trust a Cold Front in October
How to Sail Oceans

Never Trust a Cold Front in October

Yeow! The cold front passes over me and is rather more ferocious than it looked on the weather maps. As the wind backs more westerly I am obliged to set some mainsail, otherwise I cannot steer close enough to the wind to keep to the rhumb line. So a long day--and night--which finally ends in Poqu...
The Many Faces of the Sea
How to Sail Oceans

The Many Faces of the Sea

Very variable conditions persist for my passage south from Padanaram, MA to the Chesapeake Bay. HOW TO SAIL OCEANS TEE SHIRT: WEBSITE: TIP JAR: MUSIC: August Rain--Kevin Boothby VIDEO SOUNDTRACKS: CAMERAS: Canon EOS 60D with EF 24-105mm L IS zoom lens Olympus TG-3 Go P...
Nothing like a gaffer off the wind … when there is wind
How to Sail Oceans

Nothing like a gaffer off the wind … when there is wind

Not wanting to miss the wonderful Hadleys Harbor (MA), I pass up a weather window to head south to the Chesapeake Bay. This also affords another Ruth Avery vs. Charis race across Buzzards Bay on a near perfect sailing day. Another weather window arrives on October 12, and I head out early mornin...
Carburetor Blues and the Eth Lab
How to Sail Oceans

Carburetor Blues and the Eth Lab

Race day! Ruth Avery of Brunswick and Charis of Boston weigh anchor from Tarpaulin Cove, and their skippers make sail for the 15-mile run to Padanaram, South Dartmouth. The race begins with a fierce 4-mile beat to windward, followed by a reach across Buzzards Bay. I won't give away the re...
Let the Bulgine Run
How to Sail Oceans

Let the Bulgine Run

An autumnal chill descending upon Maine prompts me to complete the installation of the diesel heater I began back in May. And then it is time to turn her snout south before the onset of winter ... HOW TO SAIL OCEANS TEE SHIRT: WEBSITE: TIP JAR: MUSIC: Eliza Lee (traditional)--The Longest...
Frankenstein’s Secret (an essay)
How to Sail Oceans

Frankenstein’s Secret (an essay)

Could a computer become conscious? Could a future Dr. Frankenstein unleash a technologically created living being upon the world? Or do living things have some particular essence of which man-made machines are necessarily bereft? For a full transcript visit HOW TO SAIL OCEANS TEE SHIRT: WEBS...
Got whiskers on my chin, and I like the mood I’m in.
How to Sail Oceans

Got whiskers on my chin, and I like the mood I’m in.

The remains of Hurricane Ida bring some wind and rain, but fair weather returns the following day. I row ashore and take a hike into Boothbay and a bit beyond to Hannaford's supermarket. Then it's back around Cape Small to the Basin ( a new favorite anchorage) and on to Quahog Bay. As u...
The Coast of Maine: Pretty but Challenging
How to Sail Oceans

The Coast of Maine: Pretty but Challenging

It is nearly September and the hard dodger is complete, so it's time to cast off the mooring hawser and head out on a short cruise up the Maine coast. Even with the help of my 3.5hp outboard, Maine presents many challenges to the engineless or under powered sailor. Tidal currents are a facto...
Building a Hard Dodger, Part 2
How to Sail Oceans

Building a Hard Dodger, Part 2

I pick up where I left off in Part 1, which is attaching the roof. Following that a complete coating with epoxy is on order, before I apply primer and paint. Then it's time to fasten the dodger to the boat, and--most important of all!--figure out where to install the ship's bell. HOW T...
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