When a Registered Boat Becomes a Legal Nightmare: A St. Johns River Story Tracy Lynn Tedesco learned, too late, how costly a single decision can be. As the family’s primary earner and bill payer, she registered a boat in her name that was effectively her husband’s. What could go wrong? For a time the family … Read more

Schooner Sultana Visits Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels On May 7, the replica schooner Sultana will arrive at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum in St. Michaels, Maryland. The vessel will spend the week both at the museum and sailing the Chesapeake Bay with student groups, serving as a hands-on classroom for maritime history … Read more

Welcome to the new Soundings. We’ve spent more than a winter’s worth of time chipping ice and shoveling snow — we’ve been reinventing the magazine. From our base in Essex, Conn., we’re excited to introduce a refreshed Soundings that feels right for today and ready for tomorrow. The new format measures 9 by 10-7/8 inches, … Read more

People frequently ask me about survival at sea. After a boating-safety talk, someone almost always wants to discuss life rafts, rationing, or whether I’ve read the famous survival books about being lost on the ocean—most commonly Steve Callahan’s Adrift: 76 Days Lost at Sea. After I explain the best practices for staying safe and for … Read more

From Miami to Cowes: How Gincanotto Sealed a Long-Awaited Victory The origins of modern offshore powerboat racing trace back to Miami, a city that played a pivotal role in popularizing high-speed offshore competition. In the late 1950s, John William Maxwell Aitken witnessed one of the early Miami–Nassau races. That experience helped shape his vision for … Read more

First Light Boatworks: Preserving Traditional Wooden Boatbuilding in Chatham, Massachusetts At a small waterfront yard in Chatham, Massachusetts, First Light Boatworks carries on the craft of traditional wooden boatbuilding. Under owners Woody Metzger and Jim Donovan, the shop blends time-honored methods with practical modern improvements to produce handcrafted sailboats, lapstrake powerboats and custom commissions, while … Read more

At 71 years old, French adventurer Jean-Jacques Savin has taken a strikingly original approach to solo ocean travel: he built a barrel-shaped vessel to cross the Atlantic using only the force of the sea. Rather than relying on engines or sails, Savin’s plan is to drift with the ocean currents, letting the natural movement of … Read more

Ellen MacArthur joins youths for final leg The 48-foot yacht Scarlet Oyster completed the final leg of the Ellen MacArthur Trust Skandia Round Britain voyage on September 12, sailing from Torquay back to its starting point in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. This concluding passage marked the end of a carefully planned 132-day circumnavigation … Read more

Lucie is an International 6 Meter racing yacht designed by Clinton Crane and built by Henry B. Nevins in 1931. Bearing sail number US55, she is a striking example of the classic 6 Meter aesthetic: narrow proportions for her 37-foot overall length, a low profile, an elegant sheer line and long overhangs. Those graceful lines … Read more

Paul Todd / Outside Images — Photograph and Technical Notes Photo by Paul Todd/Outside Images Camera and Exposure Details Camera used: Nikon D800 Shutter speed: 1/800 second Lens focal length: 70mm Aperture: f/2.8 ISO: 500 Publication August 2013 issue About the Technical Choices The combination of a Nikon D800, a 70mm focal length and an … Read more