I'm back in familiar New England waters. Following a provisioning run, I set off for a short sail from Vineyard Haven to Tarpaulin Cove. The sailing weather is near perfect, although there are thunderstorms in the forecast. Well those thunderstorms arrive sooner than expected in the form of a gust...

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Wax on, wax off. A summer passage from the Chesapeake Bay to New England waters should be fairly easy to accomplish. And while the gales are gone, the weather conditions remain in perpetual flux. Light airs one day, brisk winds the next; warm sunshine, then rain; clear visibility, then fog. It keeps...

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Northbound toward cooler New England climes. Fresh from the boatyard, the boat is in top nick and the weather forecast is good. But the roller furling is new, and new equipment will often have hiccups. A faulty Kotter pin causes quite the cascade of failures. SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL OCEANS ON PATREON:...

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Some lovely cruising to be had on the lower Chesapeake Bay, from Indian Creek on down to the Severn River of Mobjack Bay. But an early summer heatwave has me searching the weather maps for a northbound sailing window, eager as I am to escape the swelter. SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL OCEANS ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/user?u=12372934 HOW...

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Entering and exiting constricted waterways by sail and oar can certainly be challenging at times. But then an already small anchorage can get even smaller when other boats decide to anchor there as well. At times I feel like a nautical Houdini (Nau-dini? It's the best I could come up with ...) trying...

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The new stove has arrived and ... it fits! Hooray for measuring tape. I also complete the installation of the new Furlex by rigging the furler line. Now I only await the new staysail, which is on its way from New Zealand. SUPPORT HOW TO SAIL OCEANS ON PATREON: https://patreon.com/user?u=12372934 HOW...

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I'm in the thick of it now. But I do manage to complete the assembly of the Furlex roller furling system for the new staysail. I also plan to replace my Force 10 stove with a Dickinson Caribbean stove, so I am taking the opportunity to refurbish some of the surrounding furniture. SUPPORT HOW TO...

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Yep, it's another installment of "hard work on the hard". First up: topsides need re-painting. This is complicated by the fact that Interlux has discontinued Perfection Paint, which I liked a lot. So I decide to try Epiphanes two-part polyurethane topside paint. I also start in on this year's Big...

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So the normally challenging Broad Creek (Deltaville, VA) -- for an engineless sailboat that is -- is rendered even trickier by dredging operations. A fair wind is a must for sailing in and out of Broad Creek. The final step for me is to get the boat to the travel lift slip at Jolly Skipper Boatyard....

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It's a windward slog to clear Cape Lookout Shoals, which will be rewarded with a fast run around Cape Hatteras and on to the Chesapeake Bay. Arriving at night, I anchor outside of Jackson Creek for some rest and because I require good visibility (and a fair wind) to sail in through this winding, tricking...

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I exit the Gulf Stream which has carried me nearly 600 miles. Continuing on around Hatteras is not in the cards just now with a cold front approaching, so I will put in to Beaufort, NC. The good news is that the approaching front brings increasing southerly winds, which are perfect for sailing into...

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OK, I don't have an anemometer. I just liked the word play in the title when it makes you think of the country song "Gentle on my Mind". Actually this passage started off blustery, but a few days into it and the Gulf Stream went flat, the breezes warm and gentle. I hang out everything in the hamper,...

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