After a long journey up the African coast, Dakar serves as the final stop to tackle a critical repair on Galopin: a broken genoa furler. Watch as local experts ...

A passage from New Orleans toward Costa Rica comes with more to consider than distance. Unlit oil structures make a careful watch essential in the Gulf, while ...

Costa Rica’s Islas Murciélagos offered hiking, breaching whales, and a memorable stop away from the usual anchorages. Most sailors pass these islands by, and ...

After six months in Dakar, it’s time to lift off and sail Galopin solo to The Gambia. What was supposed to be an uneventful overnight passage turned into a ...

This incredible underwater footage appears to show orcas pushing against a sailboat’s rudder. The shaft looks bent, but the rudder remains attached and the ...

About 100 miles off Kona, pounding waves broke my catamaran’s rear main beam, leaving the starboard hull hanging from the deck. Keeping the boat together meant ...

Joyita departed for Tokelau on one engine with 25 people aboard, expecting a passage of roughly two days. None of those 25 people were ever seen again. The ...

Reinforcing a hull is about how it holds together after an impact. Tough fibers such as Twaron are used alongside fiberglass to help resist tearing, with the ...

One of my most ill-fated deliveies started when an owner decided to install an air conditioner into the aft lazarette by drilling holes through a watertight ...

Launched in Los Angeles in 1931, Joyita began as a 69-foot luxury yacht built for Hollywood director Roland West and his wife, actress Jewel Carmen. Beneath ...

A damaged rudder post or shaft log can leave an opening that’s extremely difficult to seal at sea. Watertight bulkheads help contain that flooding in a ...

Six months into my stay in the bay, it was finally time to take Galopin out of the water because the hull growth had attached itself with a vengeance. Hauling ...

“Step up into the life raft” is a reminder that abandoning ship should be a last resort. A boat that remains afloat can offer shelter, water, shade, and a much ...

Five weeks after disappearing with 25 people aboard, the Joyita was found afloat and empty. Nobody aboard was ever found. The boat survived, leaving one ...

A broken mast doesn’t necessarily mean the sailing is over. With enough mast left standing, a spinnaker pole and a sail turned sideways can become a makeshift ...

They’re called “marriage savers” for a reason. Headsets keep crew from shouting across the boat, but hand signals work too, provided everyone speaks the same ...

A collision can flood the bow without flooding the whole boat. A watertight bulkhead separates that forward compartment from the living space, helping contain ...

Once the hull slips under, this Arcona disappears in seconds. A broken rudder tube below the waterline can leave an opening that’s almost impossible to seal ...

You can tell Ted Gozzard designed this boat for offshore cruising; the handholds, narrow walkways, toe rail-mounted stanchions, big deck drains...if I had to ...

This video documents the somber hours after a severe storm hit our bay in Dakar. A poorly anchored work barge drifted through the anchorage, causing serious ...

Sun exposure can make the plastic parts in this style of mainsail furler brittle, and broken pieces can damage the furling line. I explain why I’m not a fan of ...

In October 1955, the Joyita, a 69-foot motor yacht chartered for a routine supply run, set sail from Samoa for the Tokelau Islands with 25 people aboard. She ...

Moving a traveler onto a catamaran hardtop means that structure has to withstand enormous sailing loads. A gybe can suddenly load the mounting and cause chaos. ...

Gozzard Yachts builds only a handful of customized bluewater boats each year instead of chasing production volume. I think staying small and family-owned has ...