This converted Pacific Northwest workboat is both durable and charming. It’s almost a rule of thumb: a stroll along B-Dock at the Boat Haven in Port Townsend, Washington, will stop for a look at Petrel. Tied up there, the 42-foot converted salmon troller draws passersby — even those who don’t know much about boats — … Read more

Soundings writer speaks on Cuban cruising travels Peter Swanson, a contributing writer for Soundings and a recognized Cuba cruising expert, will present at CubaCon 2010 on June 11 in Provincetown, Massachusetts. His presentation, titled “Great Bahamas–Cuba Loop: A Post‑Embargo Cruising Strategy,” is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m., and may include input from additional marine … Read more

Getting to America’s Cup Village from San Francisco and Oakland Airports The San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Oakland International Airport (OAK) are practically equal in distance from the America’s Cup Village and park — roughly 13 miles as the crow flies. That proximity makes both airports convenient entry points for visitors, and because the … Read more

Life on a Remote Island What is it like to live on an island 22 miles offshore, home to only about three dozen winter residents, whose local economy revolves around lobstering? That question lies at the heart of a clear-eyed, intimate account of year-round life on Maine’s Matinicus Island. About the island Matinicus sits well … Read more

Queen Bee: The Unbelievable Journey of a 26-Foot Regulator Center Console A well-built small boat can withstand far more abuse than many of us imagine. The extraordinary story of Queen Bee—a 26‑foot Regulator center console lost off Nantucket in 2008 and discovered years later floating off the coast of Spain—underscores that truth and highlights both … Read more

American Magic and IYRS: Reviving Rhode Island’s America’s Cup Boatbuilding Tradition Rhode Island’s role in building America’s Cup yachts stretches back well over a century, beginning with Vigilant, constructed in 1893 by the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company in Bristol. That same deep boatbuilding culture is part of the thread that connects today’s campaigns to their storied … Read more

Beneteau Launches the Beneteau Fishing Trophy: An International, Digital No-Kill Competition Beneteau has introduced the Beneteau Fishing Trophy, a new international and digitized competition designed for saltwater anglers everywhere. The Trophy makes it easy for fishermen and women to join a global, community-driven event: participants document their catches with their smartphones, share images and stories, … Read more

The marker was always there, way out on the shoal. It was anchored by an old chain to a mushroom anchor at the far end of the long sandbar that runs between the Mattaponi and Pamunkey rivers, where they join in a Y to form the York River. Thousands of years ago that shoal had … Read more

Beached to Rot: A Row of Early 1800s Wooden Vessels in New York City A single black-and-white photograph from the Detroit Photographic Co. captures a haunting scene: a fleet of wooden vessels from the early 1800s left stranded on a New York City shoreline. The caption—“beached to rot away, New York City”—frames what at first … Read more

Fall feels like a small-batch bourbon: fleeting, bittersweet and aromatic. It’s the finest season for lingering on the water before winter arrives on Dec. 21 and shuts the waterways until spring. This year autumn arrived under a full September moon. I missed a call from fellow writer Tom Neale while I was out on the … Read more