When I first encountered the Aquila 45 Sport at its U.S. debut in spring, I felt an immediate grin. Stepping aboard again for a sea trial a few weeks later reinforced that first impression: this is, unmistakably, a boat built for purposeful use. The design centers on a roomy, robust deck configuration that feels solid … Read more

The waters of the U.S. Northeast have long nurtured some of the country’s most cherished maritime traditions—from varnished wooden runabouts and hardworking lobster boats to storied waterfronts and shipyards. In this photo essay, award-winning photographer Onne van der Wal of Jamestown, Rhode Island, focuses on the boats, builders, and coastal scenes that give this region … Read more

Photography by Andrew Chin The sun hadn’t yet set on the first day of the Marblehead to Halifax Race when Crazy Horse had already covered 90 miles. It was a downwind sled run across the Gulf of Maine: the Baltic 50 was surfing at double-digit speeds under a red A3 spinnaker, keeping pace with modern … Read more

From Ship’s Chandlery to Editor: A Maritime Career Forged in Annapolis In 1990 I returned from a gap year after high school, drifting from one friend’s couch to another and searching for direction. That year I’d learned to sail with my father—the sailboat arrived with his new marriage—and the hobby quickly became an obsession. My … Read more

Family Memories Made on the Water Ask a group of boaters about their favorite family memories and you’ll rarely hear them start by naming a specific boat. Instead they recall the child who caught their first fish, the teenager who learned to dock, or an unplanned stop in a quiet harbor that turned into a … Read more

U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Historic American Engineering Record Lowell’s Boat Shop: The Birthplace of the New England Dory Lowell’s Boat Shop in Amesbury, Massachusetts, has crafted seaworthy wooden boats for more than two centuries. Founded in 1793 by Simeon Lowell, it stands as the oldest continually operating wooden boat shop in … Read more

In an old speedboat book I came across a chapter about marinizing aircraft engines for marine use. It may sound surprising, but after World War I the practice of converting surplus V-12 Liberty aircraft engines for boats became widespread. Those engines were light and powerful for their time—roughly 400 to 500 hp depending on the … Read more

Gunnar Christensen will sail his Hans Christian 34 around the world in the Golden Globe Race, which begins Sept. 6 in France. Jason Ludlow On a blustery, overcast late-spring day in England, I stand in the yard at Lymington Yacht Haven and look up at a boat propped on jackstands. She is an orange-and-white Hans … Read more

For decades, recreational boaters treated life jackets as a basic obligation: carry the required number, keep them serviceable, and put one on when conditions deteriorated or a marine patrol was nearby. Yet emergencies often unfold too quickly to don bulky flotation, which helps explain why roughly 87% of drowning victims are recovered without a life … Read more

Finding Space and Comfort: The Carboccis’ Grand Banks 46 “Good Enough” Boating is, in many ways, about perspective. For Pete and Rose Carbocci, upgrading their cruising lifestyle meant finding a boat that offered more space and conveniences than the small V-berth and ice hunts they endured while sailing a 30-foot O’Day without refrigeration. Years of … Read more