Senior Sailors Set Out on An-Tiki Raft to Raise Funds for WaterAid An 86-year-old grandfather and a determined crew of over-50s set sail on April 6 from the Caribbean, bound for the Bahamas on a raft constructed from water pipes. The voyage has a clear charitable aim: the crew hopes to raise approximately $75,000 for … Read more

The glory days of surfcasting for giant striped bass on Block Island still live large in the memories of those who were there. Between 1982 and 1987 the island’s rocky shores produced an extraordinary run of big stripers that few anglers have ever seen since. Veteran surfcaster Dennis Zambrotta, who chronicled those years in his … Read more

Akademik Lomonosov: Russia’s Floating Nuclear Power Plant Heads to the Arctic The 474-foot-long Akademik Lomonosov is a block-shaped floating nuclear power plant equipped to generate roughly 70 megawatts of electricity. Built and operated under the auspices of the state-controlled company Rosatom, the vessel was recently declared operational and has begun a long voyage to the … Read more

Rebuilding the Maryland Dove: A Historically Accurate Replica of a 17th-Century Coastal Vessel In 1633 a small two-masted square-rigger named the Dove departed the Isle of Wight for the New World. Caught in a sudden storm and last seen by the crew of her larger companion, the Ark, flying distress lanterns, the Dove appeared lost. … Read more

Dreamers with a Sense of Humor Renee D. Petrillo’s sailing memoir, A Sail of Two Idiots, tells the familiar but still irresistible story of a couple who decide to leave the 9-to-5 grind and trade it for life on the water. Published by International Marine in 2012, this 304-page paperback (priced at $12.16 through Amazon … Read more

Captain George Farnsworth — “Tuna George” and the Birth of Modern Game Fishing Captain George Farnsworth, widely known to his friends and fellow anglers around Catalina Island as “Tuna George,” stands among the early innovators who shaped big-game sportfishing off Southern California. Born in Connecticut, Farnsworth made his career on the ocean in the early … Read more

Cutwater Boats Unveils CW26 and CW28 Semidisplacement Pilothouse Cruisers Fluid Motion, the designer and builder behind the Ranger Tugs brand, has launched a new line of semidisplacement pilothouse boats intended for cruising, fishing and comfortable overnighting. Marketed under the Cutwater Boats name, the initial models in the series—the CW26 and CW28—focus on efficient, single-diesel propulsion, … Read more

Volvo Ocean Race Team Scallywag Suffers Tragic Loss as Crew Member Washed Overboard Team Scallywag, racing a Volvo Ocean 65, experienced a fatal man overboard incident in the remote South Pacific on March 26. British crew member John Fisher was swept overboard as the boat encountered a building gale. Despite an immediate and determined search … Read more

J Class Yachts Thrill Newport Just as They Did in Their 1930s Glory Days Photos by Jody Dole We gathered in a small launch in Newport, Rhode Island — three photographers, Soundings editor Bill Sisson and I — to witness the J Class Regatta. The event is part of a series of international competitions organized … Read more

Ferrocement Ships: Early 20th Century Concrete Vessels and Their Legacy What are these men doing, and what is all that metalwork? Look closely at the background and the curved outline of a ship’s bow reveals the answer. It’s the early 1900s, and the workers stand inside a lattice of rebar and wire mesh, building what … Read more