Tom Niles Donates $1 Million to Coast Guard Foundation to Create Education Fund About 20 years ago, a young Tom Niles found himself adrift off the coast of Massachusetts when the outboard on his 15-foot Boston Whaler died near Boston Light. Chilly September air, an outgoing tide and a fading sun compounded the situation. He … Read more

From Mountains to Liveaboard: How Rob and Deanna Found Bella Luna When Rob and Deanna Piwowarczyk first discussed living on a boat, the conversation nearly sank their marriage. It was 2012, and the newlyweds were settled in the Colorado mountains—Deanna in her early 40s working in software with horses and dogs, Rob five years older … Read more

Piotr Zin is personable, articulate and remarkably inventive—some might even call him delightfully obsessive about boats. At 42, the industrial designer who founded Zin Boats is steering his electric Z2R through the Miami South Channel, a boat he conceived to prove that electric propulsion can deliver performance, style and efficiency without compromise. Zin’s love of … Read more

Eagle Scout Creates Memorial Artificial Reef in the Gulf of Mexico Becoming an Eagle Scout requires planning and completing a meaningful community service project. While many Eagle projects are modest in scale and budget, some young leaders choose ambitious undertakings that leave a long-lasting legacy. One such project came from Garrett Ard of Orange Beach, … Read more

Feadship: From Postwar Coffeehouse Conversations to Iconic Luxury Yachts They were large, resolute vessels designed to cross oceans and carry their owners to any harbor around the world. Emerging from the devastation of World War II, Feadship became synonymous with bespoke luxury yachts crafted by Dutch shipbuilders who rebuilt an industry and set a new … Read more

Few vessels capture the romance and raw power of the sea like the clipper ship. Towering with three masts and tens of thousands of square feet of canvas, a classic clipper could harness the wind and surge across the oceans at remarkable speeds. With its rigging humming and sails set taut, a well-handled clipper might … Read more

New 39-Foot Powerboat Grounds on Great Reef off Sheffield Island; Crew Rescued A newly purchased 39-foot powerboat, valued at approximately $300,000, ran aground on a large rock formation off Sheffield Island in Norwalk, Connecticut, on Wednesday morning. The owner and a delivery captain were transporting the vessel northbound from Stuart, Florida, to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, … Read more

Bottlenose Dolphin “Zafar” Guided Back to the Sea After Three Days in Amsterdam Harbor An adult bottlenose dolphin that followed a sailing ship for three days, passed through locks into Amsterdam’s waterways and lingered in the brackish harbor has been guided back to the open sea. The animal, locally known as Zafar and observed by … Read more

Downeast Revival: Editors Discuss the Latest Downeast-Style Boats Soundings editors Gary Reich and Pim Van Hemmen recently discussed a wave of new Downeast-style boats arriving on the market, highlighting how contemporary builders are interpreting classic New England aesthetics for modern boaters. Their conversation covered three distinct models—the Sabre 58, the MJM 53z and the True … Read more

Hybrid Water Taxi Certified for Venice Canals: A Cleaner, Quieter Option In a city where centuries-old traditions shape daily life, persuading local water taxi operators to move away from internal combustion engines is no small task. Venice’s reliance on motorized boats has long contributed to noise, air pollution and subtle structural wear along its fragile … Read more