Soundings is the news and feature publication for recreational boaters. Award-winning coverage of the people, issues, events -- and the fun -- of recreational boating. Check out our generous boats-for-sale section and our gunkholing destinations.
Once upon a time, I was not obsessed with boats. I was a busy mid-career professional — a book editor— who made the mistake of relocating for a position because it paid well (a relative term, given my trade). Off I went to an inland area, a few hours from the coast, and I threw myself into my work, busied in my off hours by a house-hunt and then minor renovations, and enjoying the change of pace from city life. One day, about two years into my new situation, I looked around my office and noticed that it was oddly decorated, though I had done it myself. Nearly every wall had photos of boats: a working tug, a trawler, a North Sea fishing boat, a buy-boat, a pilot boat, a…
The headline with Pat Mundus’ April “Seamanship” story poses the question, “What Makes A Good Captain?” Answer: The captain, crew, passengers and vessel survive the voyage. William Chaplik via Facebook POWER, NOT SAIL? I read with great interest your informative “tales” of cruising couples from around the world [“Adventure Called, They Answered,” April]. In recent years, we enjoyed 10 years of traveling by sea. We traveled aboard our 50-foot “antique” Stephens sailboat, so I couldn’t help but notice that your travelers did so aboard power cruising boats. I’m interested in knowing their reasons for that choice. Capt. John Nickel via email INSPIRED Editor-in-chief Mary South mentioned her book, The Cure for Anything is Saltwater, in her “Underway” column awhile back [“Committed To Memory,” August 2016]. I just finished reading the…
SAIL A LEGEND Berths are available to sail aboard Sir Francis Chichester’s iconic Gipsy Moth IV for the July 1 start of the 2018 Golden Globe Race. The yacht is scheduled to leave Southampton, England, on June 25 and arrive in Les Sables d’Olonne, France, on June 28 at the height of festivities. The return leg commences July 2. Chichester completed the first solo, one-stop circumnavigation aboard Gipsy Moth IV in 1966-67, which was the inspiration for the original Golden Globe Race, staged in 1968. gipsymoth.org Back Cove Yachts has taken the wraps off its first outboard-powered boat, the 34O. “Back Cove recognizes the shift to outboard power that is going on in the market,” says Bentley Collins, vice president of marketing and sales. “This first Back Cove outboard retains…
1. INTERNATIONAL RULES: You are underway in restricted visibility and hear 1 short, 1 prolonged and 1 short blast. This means: A. vessel in distress B. vessel fishing C. vessel at anchor D. vessel towing 2. INTERNATIONAL RULES: A sailboat is approaching from your port side on a collision course. You should: A. keep clear B. maintain course and speed C. sound 1 blast on the whistle and turn to starboard D. stop engines 3. INTERNATIONAL RULES: The danger signal may be given in which of the following situations: A. meeting and overtaking B. meeting and crossing C. overtaking and crossing D. meeting, crossing or overtaking 4. The abbreviation “hrd” on a chart means: A. bottom is hard B. harbor C. headland D. horizontal clearance 5. A dye marker used…
At the height of World War II, moviegoers paid about 30 cents each for tickets to “The Sullivans,” the story of five brothers from Waterloo, Iowa, who served aboard the USS Juneau in the 1942 Battle of Guadalcanal. Toward the end of the film, an explosion tears through the 541-foot ship, and the screen fades to black, a cinematic retelling of how the five brothers — and more than 680 of their fellow crewmen and officers — perished after a Japanese torpedo strike. Americans watching on the big screen praised the story of the “Fighting Sullivans” as a legendary tale of an Irish-American family’s patriotic sacrifice. Three-quarters of a century later — on St. Patrick’s Day, no less — their watery grave has been found. The 250-foot research vessel Petrel,…
SUPERNOVA Germania Nova is a reproduction of the 1908 schooner Germania, designed by Max Oertz. Built of steel in 2011 by Factoria Naval De Marin in Pontevedra, Spain, she is 196 feet with a beam of 26 feet and draws 18 feet. Below are five staterooms for 10 guests, plus quarters for 13 crewmembers. She cruises at 12-plus knots. The asking price is $7.3 million. edmiston.com THROUGH WIND AND FOG Formally lit on Dec. 1, 1870, after a 15-year land dispute, Point Reyes Light Station in Marin County, California, sits on a jagged piece of land the Coast Guard once called the “windiest and foggiest on the Pacific Coast.” The area is often buffeted by 75- to 100-mph winds and locked in fog for a week at a time. The…
