Author co_admin

Destinations
By

Mystic Moon: Cruising to Haines, Alaska

It’s still cold, very cold, in Alaska, but that hasn’t stopped John and Kathy Youngblood from cruising about 150 nm up to Haines, north of Juneau, on their 2004 Selene 53, Mystic Moon. The Youngbloods are veteran cruisers, having completed a 35,000-mile journey around the Pacific three years ago, and cruising in the Pacific Northwest since then. Despite storms and snow, they encountered whales, bears, otters and a lot of Dungeness on their latest voyage. Read about it on their blog:  Change of plans….Mr Weather has decided to complicate things a bit. Two storms are coming and we decided to make…

Cruising Life
By

How To Keep Your Pet Safe While Boating

Since we’re in the middle of National Pet Week (who knew?), the U.S.Coast Guard Auxiliary has written some great tips about how to keep your pet safe on your boat. Read them here: If you take your dog (or cat) boating, please have them wear a life jacket and have an overboard plan. Please do not take chances with your best furry friend. Have them wear a snug, well-fitted life jacket on the dock and underway. The life jacket should have a strong handle to lift them out of the water and be a bright color with reflective trim. Even…

Cruising Life
By

Nav 101: How To Find Time, Distance, Speed

These triangles from Captain John’s Skippers Tips may serve as an easy-to-remember primer, or refresher, on how to determine the basic three factors in coastal navigation: Time, Distance, Speed. Even if your electronics work perfectly all the time (and they won’t), you’ll still want to know how to reach your destination safely without them. Take a look:  These are the basic ‘big three’ in all navigation, whether visual, electronic, or celestial. Time, Distance, and Speed. In order to answer any of these questions, you must know the answer to the other two questions. If you want to find time, you need…

Cruising Life
By

Beware of Ethanol This Summer: BoatUS

SPRINGFIELD, Va., April 18, 2022 – There’s been a lot of pain at the pump lately with gas prices. The Biden administration’s April 12 move to give a waiver from the Clean Air Act to allow the sale of gasoline containing 15% ethanol (E15) during the summer months is intended to lower costs and stretch the nation’s fuel supply. However, Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) says the unintended consequence of the waiver could inadvertently put a harmful fuel prohibited for use in recreational vessels into your boat’s gas tank. BoatUS notes recreational vessels are never compatible with…

Cruising Life
By

People “Ride” Stranded Dolphin

Here’s a discouraging story from NPR about how people tried to ride on a dolphin stranded on Texas beach – killing it: A dolphin stranded on a Texas beach died after being harassed by a crowd of people who also tried to ride the animal, according to rescuers. The Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network posted on Facebook that a female dolphin was found stranded, but alive, on Quintana Beach in Texas last Sunday. Beachgoers pushed the animal back into the sea, but it was further harassed by people who attempted to ride the sick animal. She got stranded on the…

Charter
By

Top 10 Charter Destinations This Year

Here’s a list of this year’s top ten charter destinations, from the people at Denison Yachting (Sardinia and Corsica are pictured above). Start making your plans now: Is it just us, or does 2022 already feel different? After two years of a global pandemic, countries are adapting to international tourism and implementing ways to safely welcome visitors. Yet one of the safest ways to travel is by luxury yacht charter. Denison’s charter division experienced higher demand for larger and more expensive yachts than ever before — a 65% increase in the total number of weeks booked throughout 2021. Ready to…

Cruising Life
By

21 Tips For Saving Fuel from BoatUS

SPRINGFIELD, Va., March 17, 2022 – Gas prices are up. What can boaters do to prepare for a summer of boating? The 800,000-plus member Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) has 21 fuel-saving tips boaters can do to help save on fuel and still enjoy a fulfilling season on the water. While some of these techniques may sound obvious, there may be some you never considered. Before Heading Out: Tune your engine now. A once a year for a tune-up and service will help it run more efficiently. Match the boat’s prop to the boat and activity. Propellers…

Cruising Life
By

User-Friendly Spring Commissioning Checklist: BoatUS

Here’s an easy-to-follow, quite thorough spring-commissioning checklist from BoatUS: SPRINGFIELD, Va., March 10, 2022 – Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS) offers its Spring Commissioning Checklist to help boaters start the season right. The nation’s largest advocacy, service and savings group also offers BoatUS.com/Spring, a one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about the yearly ritual of recreational boat commissioning. A PDF copy of the checklist is available to download, print, and take to the boat with you. Be sure to follow all manufacturer recommendations for your specific boat, engine and accessories. Before You Launch Inspect all around…

Cruising Life
By

Top Ten Videos of Year from BoatUS

What are boat owners really worried about? Repairing their gelcoat and making sure their bilge  pumps work. At least that’s the conclusion from a list of the 10 Most-Watched Videos of 2021 from BoatUS. Take a look: SPRINGFIELD, VA., Dec. 15, 2021 – Repairing gelcoat is a common boat owner task, but it requires more than just filling in small spider cracks. “How to Spray Gelcoat on a Boat Using a Preval Sprayer,” which shows how to make professional gelcoat repairs over a larger area, was the most-watched new BoatUS video of 2021, from BoatUS Magazine. The second most-watched video…

Cruising Life
By

How To Use Ranges To Cruise Safely

Here’s some great advice from Skipper Tips about how to use ranges to cruise safely: You enter an unfamiliar channel late in the afternoon. You scan your chart plotter or nautical chart to check for dangers to the left, or to the right. Rocky shoals lie close to the channel edges on each side. Be on the lookout for one of the sailor’s best friends – channel ranges (also called transits). These markers will lead you down the center of a narrow channel in safety, keep your sailboat in deep water, and help you navigate with confidence, day or night.…

1 … 5 6 7 8 9 … 11