Tom Stokes was aboard his Pacific Seacraft 36, reflecting on why he and his wife were spending so much time motoring. “We had one trip, I don’t even think we put the sails up,” he recalls. “We were motoring at least half the time. It seemed crazy to think about a powerboat, but I started … Read more

There’s a long-standing joke among mariners: on Chesapeake Bay, if you haven’t gone aground, you haven’t left the dock; in Maine some sailors quip they know every rock because they’ve hit most of them. Grounding a boat isn’t inevitable, but anyone who spends enough time on the water will likely face it at least once. … Read more

Catchy phrases and old rhymes can be comforting at sea, but they can also be dangerously misleading. Lines like “Don’t leave the boat until the boat leaves you” or “Red sky at night, sailor’s delight” persist because they rhyme and sound wise — not because they’re reliable. The ocean is complex and unforgiving, and absolute … Read more

Marex Boats Expands to the United States with Five Models Available in Early 2025 Norwegian boat builder Marex Boats is officially expanding its presence in the United States. During the first five months of 2025, Marex will offer five of its models to U.S. buyers, with local support provided by New Jersey-based Sandy Hook Yacht … Read more

Bertram 31 “Phoenix”: How a Father-and-Son Team Rebuilt a Classic into a High-Performance Sportfish Never tell Bob Lico it can’t be done — to him, that’s not a suggestion, it’s a provocation. Bob, 78, grew up on the shores of Great South Bay on Long Island and owned his first boat at age six. A … Read more

One constant when you head offshore in a small boat is that the seemingly empty ocean is anything but empty. The night sky is fuller with stars and planets than you’ll usually see on land. Creatures surface unexpectedly, birds appear far from shore, and the clouds and sea present an endless variety of moods. Offshore … Read more

Andy Tyska sat alone in the office after a long meeting about Bristol Marine’s acquisition of the historic boatbuilder Huckins Yachts. The other attendees had left, and he found himself at a desk moved into the office of Huckins president Cindy Purcell, the company’s third-generation owner whose family began Huckins in 1928. On the desk … Read more

Why Orcas Are Ramming Sailboats Near the Iberian Peninsula Since about 2020, sailors around the Iberian Peninsula—including in the Strait of Gibraltar—have reported an unusual and worrying pattern: orcas approaching and ramming sailboats, frequently damaging or removing rudders. Attempts to deter these interactions have ranged from repainting hulls to blasting loud music, but so far … Read more

Kruger’s Journey: Standup Paddling, the Arctic, and Life Aboard Raven “After I did the Race to Alaska, people would often throw that word at me,” Kruger says. “They’d say, ‘Did you always know that you’d be doing extreme stuff like this?’ It took me a long time to find the words to explain why that … Read more

Not long ago, a Northern Marine owner brought his boat back to the builder’s shipyard in Anacortes, Washington, for a light refresh before listing it for sale. Bringing the boat to the original builder sparked word-of-mouth among Northern Marine owners and prompted the company to put dedicated refit services on its radar. “That started word-of-mouth … Read more