I have owned a RIB for nearly a decade. I’ve taken it across the Great Lakes, through Chesapeake and Penobscot bays, and even ran it from the Jersey Shore across Raritan Bay to Manhattan on one of the roughest days I can remember—flying off ocean swells, safely landing in the troughs and arriving in the … Read more

South Florida attorney Bruce Marx posted a message on his Facebook page one April, asking friends to share the email addresses of local dockmasters. “It’s time that a marina community watch be established,” he wrote. The post masked how angry he really was. Thieves had removed a Garmin chartplotter from his 31-foot Contender while the … Read more

Bill Boes’ Pedal-Boat Crossing from Bimini to Florida Halted by Severe Storm If not for a violent thunderstorm, Bill Boes of Stuart, Florida, would have completed a record-setting journey by pedal boat from Bimini across the Straits of Florida to South Florida. What began as a determined, human-powered crossing ended when a sudden, savage storm … Read more

Phin Sprague: The Case for Elegant, Serviceable Boat Systems Phin Sprague Jr., a veteran offshore sailor and owner of Portland Yacht Services in Portland, Maine, draws a direct comparison between elegant solutions in geometry and well-executed boat systems. Sprague, a Harvard-educated circumnavigator and founder of the Maine Boatbuilders Show, believes the best systems are those … Read more

Hobie Mirage Sport: A Versatile Polyethylene Pedal Kayak for Fishing, Exploring and More The Hobie Mirage Sport polyethylene kayak is designed for versatility. Whether you want to explore bays and coastal shorelines, target fish from a stable platform, enjoy bird watching in quiet estuaries, or experiment with sailing using an optional rig, the Mirage Sport … Read more

Family-owned E&H Boat Works Can Stay Put Thanks to Amendment 6, Owner Says How do you spell relief? A-m-e-n-d-m-e-n-t 6. That single change in state law is the reason Christopher Hodge believes his family’s waterfront business can finally breathe easier after years of pressure from rising property values and taxes. Floridians voted on Nov. 4 … Read more

Essex Corinthian Yacht Club: 25 Years of Family-Friendly Sailing on the Connecticut River On a chilly March afternoon at the Essex Corinthian Yacht Club in Essex, Conn., three founding members—Dan Daniells, A.J. Wasley and Dennis Walker—sit around a well-worn wooden table on the dining room’s second floor, each with a cold drink in hand. The … Read more

First Trap: Robert Beck’s Dawn on a Jonesport Lobster Boat Long before sunrise off the coast of Maine, fifteen miles out from shore, a Jonesport lobster boat prepares for a day at sea. In his painting “First Trap,” artist Robert Beck captures that precise moment between night and morning—the cool hush over the water, the … Read more

Stan Honey of Palo Alto, California, winner of the Trophée Jules Verne, and Anna Tunnicliffe of Plantation, Florida, the reigning Snipe women’s world champion, have been named US Sailing’s 2010 Rolex Yachtsman and Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year, respectively. Honey, who was previously nominated for the Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Award in 2006 after … Read more

Miriam Payne’s Gritty Solo Row Across the Atlantic: Near-Miss Turns into a Record The toughest moment in Miriam Payne’s 59-day, 16-hour, 36-minute solo crossing of the Atlantic came when she realized she would reach Antigua — but might not do so quickly enough to claim the record. The 23-year-old had been told by her shore … Read more