How-to: Seamanship

I’ve been looking for a reason to have to get an iPad and I think now I’ve found it. In his latest on-the-road blog entry, Jeff Siegel of ActiveCaptain demonstrates how well the software works on the new tablet platform from Apple. Regular readers know I’m a big fan of ActiveCaptain — I use it [...] …Read More

The sail training barque Picton Castle, a square-rigger registered in the Cook Islands and based in Lunenburg Harbor, Nova Scotia, is about to depart its mooring and head off on its fifth circumnavigation. The 14-month, westbound trip will sail through the tropics under the command of its first and only captain, Daniel Moreland. Some 44 trainees [...] …Read More

It’s a noble idea on the one hand and, on the other, a waste of CO2 canisters. BoatUS is trying to get people to wear inflatable PFDs by promoting Inflatable Life Jacket World Record Day. The idea is to have everyone inflate their PFDs simultaneously at 11am on May 20th. …Read More

Okay, so it’s not quite as memorable (yet?) as “Riders on the Storm,” the 1971 hit by The Doors, but a new blog by writers Christine Kling and Mike Jastrzebski  called Write on the Water, is a place to talk about the intersection of writing and living and working on the water. I was the guest [...] …Read More

By way of introducing this new video series, let me re-state what will become obvious to you:  I am a writer. And writers may have great ideas for video but viewers will likely suffer a bit while the writer learns to be a filmmaker. And with that ugly excuse for the quality of our first [...] …Read More

And for someone, it is the perfect yacht. Hats off to someone at Coyote Point for a classy Cal 20. …Read More

Plastiki, 39 days out of San Francisco and halfway to a final destination in Australia, arrived on Wednesday in the Line Islands. I gather it was none too soon. Arriving at the Line Islands. © Plastiki Co-skipper Jo Royle writes, “We were ready for a stop. Everyone on board has worked hard to keep the smiles [...] …Read More

Island Pilot is super-sizing its IPS-powered 435 into a new 531/2-foot model. New molds for the 535 have been built at the company’s yard in Zhuhai City, China, and Island Pilot reports that it has two firm orders already for the new yacht. If you really liked the 435 but wished it had a little [...] …Read More

From the Indian Ocean, approaching Australia after a six-month, nonstop circumnavigation, Sydney to Sydney: “Despite the fact that today started with a knockdown, a wet bunk, a headache and some pretty huge seas, I’ve had a great day. I know the words knockdown and great don’t belong in the same sentence, but right now I’m feeling [...] …Read More

Editor’s Note — Victoria Allman is the chef aboard a 143-foot megayacht and the author of the recently released “Sea Fare:  A Chef’s Journey Across the Ocean.”  This is the fourth in a series of periodic columns here on OceanLines featuring her irresistible recipes. Best of all for OceanLines readers, who are travelers of the [...] …Read More