Setting out from Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in 2018, Jeff Bolster and his wife, Molly, intended to circumnavigate on their Valiant 40. After calls in the Caribbean, Panama, the Galapagos, French Polynesia, the Cook Islands and Tonga, they reached New Zealand just as South Pacific cyclone season was ending—only to have the Covid-19 pandemic interrupt their … Read more

Cuttyhunk: A Quiet New England Island for Anglers and Locals Say the name Cuttyhunk to many New Englanders and the typical reaction is a puzzled “Huh?” Though it sits just offshore of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the mile-long island remains relatively unknown to most, known primarily to those who prize its excellent fishing. Cuttyhunk is the … Read more

Kenichi Horie’s Latest Solo Pacific Crossing: A Short Aluminum Boat, Old-School Navigation, and a Long Legacy Kenichi Horie has long been one of the most adventurous and unconventional figures in modern sailing. His seamanship and appetite for creative, low-tech projects have made him a living legend in Japan and beyond. Decades after making headlines for … Read more

Remembering Noah: A Fisherman’s Story I had known Noah since we were kids — part of a ragged band of boys who spearfished in the lighthouse cove where Fred kept his lobster skiff. Fred kept the boat on a ramp that sloped down to the sea. To launch it, he would pour a few buckets … Read more

Maine’s January Coastal Storms: Unprecedented Damage from Southeast Gales Mainers are familiar with fierce winter weather, recalling storms such as the Blizzard of 1978 and the Patriot’s Day storm of 2007. Still, the back-to-back storms that struck on January 10 and 13 produced destruction on a scale many had never seen. These wind-driven events swept … Read more

In early July of the previous summer, our crew aboard the schooner Heritage eased into Rockland Harbor, Maine, and dropped anchor. Close by, another three-masted schooner worked her way to a berth. “That’s the Victory Chimes,” said Capt. Doug Lee, skipper of Heritage. “She’s the only Chesapeake ram schooner left. They hauled lumber, grain, coal—anything … Read more

Project Atticus DIY World Cruising Desiree and Jordan Wicht met while crewing on super-yachts in the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and Southeast Asia. Their shared passion for life at sea led them to save, leave their shore jobs and buy a classic 1963 Allied Seawind, which they named Atticus. Since then they’ve committed to a long-term, … Read more

Returning to Newport: Memories from the Eagle Syndicate and the 12 Metre Magic In the summer of 1984, fresh out of college and living with my parents in New Jersey, my brother Rik called from Newport, Rhode Island. He was working for naval architect Johan Valentijn on the design of the 12 Metre Eagle. The … Read more

Unplug on Your Boat: How to Reclaim Quiet Time and Recharge Like many people today, I find myself surrounded by electronic devices — a smartphone, a laptop, a tablet, sometimes a desktop — and it often feels like I am never truly away from them. For me, though, my boat remains one of the last … Read more

In a recreational boating world dominated by fiberglass, welded aluminum often gets overlooked despite being the material of choice for many exceptional yachts and countless commercial small craft under 100 feet. Aluminum is also widely used on much larger, high-speed vessels—sometimes exceeding 300 feet—where weight savings are critical to performance. Aluminum is produced from the … Read more