It’s fall boat-show season, but this year looks and feels very different. The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted many events—several major shows were canceled as we went to press—and even where virtual or limited in-person shows proceed, many boaters prefer to stay close to home. To meet that demand, boatbuilders, dealers and Soundings have introduced virtual … Read more

Marc Castelli’s “Discretion”: A Waterman Bracing for a Chesapeake Storm In Marc Castelli’s painting Discretion, a Chesapeake Bay waterman tends his pound net near the Love Point lighthouse on Kent Island, Maryland, as a tropical storm approaches. The scene captures a moment of quiet tension: the bay’s light grows muted, the tide and wind build, … Read more

Cruising the Hudson: A Leaf-Peeping Weekend Aboard a 1989 Transworld 50 Fantail Pilothouse Trawler For decades I’d dreamed of motoring up the Hudson River. When my brother Rik bought a 1989 Transworld 50 Fantail Pilothouse trawler—an ideal small yacht for Hudson cruising—I suggested an October leaf-peeping trip. Rik and his wife were headed to Australia … Read more

The first time my family motored into Onset Bay, we were making our way from Maryland to Maine via the Cape Cod Canal and needed a place to wait for friends. After a lively sail up Buzzards Bay and a turbulent run north through the canal, we reached Hog Neck and the channel markers that … Read more

From Boat Shows to Virtual Tours: Buying a Boat in the Digital Age Sixteen years ago we bought our first family cruiser at the New York Boat Show. My husband was working in Manhattan, so he asked me to meet him at the Javits Center on 11th Avenue. I bundled up our two young children … Read more

A good boat is one that gets used, and the best boats become a family’s favorite way to spend time on the water. Scott Arnette’s 18-foot Maritime Skiff exemplifies that ideal: a compact center-console skiff that the whole family can enjoy cruising, fishing, crabbing, wakeboarding or simply relaxing at sunset. Arnette and his wife, Trude, … Read more

Pep’s Inn and Village — Lake Wallenpaupack Vintage Postcard This vintage picture postcard, produced in the mid-20th century, captures Pep’s Inn and Village on the shores of beautiful Lake Wallenpaupack in Pike County, Pennsylvania. Marketed at the time as an “all-in-one” resort, the property promoted the three cornerstones of a summer getaway—fishing, boating and swimming—while … Read more

When Brunswick Corporation—the parent company of Sea Ray, Boston Whaler and several other well-known marine brands—hosted a virtual boat show on July 21 and 22, Sea Ray’s North American sales and customer service director Ritch Ragle and his team had to rethink how they connected with buyers. Instead of the usual in-person interaction, they staffed … Read more

The Flying Dutchman: The Fast, Tunable Two-Person Racing Dinghy The legendary Vliegende Hollander, better known in English as the Flying Dutchman, carries a dual legacy: an old maritime myth about a ghost ship doomed to sail forever, and a modern legacy as one of the most thrilling and technically advanced racing dinghies ever developed. Unlike … Read more

Confiscated Sailing Vessel “Dylan” Sunk to Create Artificial Reef in the Gulf of Mexico A sailing vessel identified as the Dylan, found to contain a substantial quantity of cocaine, has been taken out of service and intentionally sunk in the Gulf of Mexico to serve as an artificial reef. The vessel arrived in Port Everglades, … Read more