The corners Well, it’s a triangle so there are 3 points. The top point is called the head. The head is attached to the halyard (the line – remember we have lines never ropes) which raises the sail. Below the…

Days melt into each other as we forget about shoreside life, swinging on the hook in the Florida Keys. Meals are whenever, clothing is optional, life is good. A craving for people comes over us and we head up to…

The sky at dawn is a cold steel blue when we pull up our anchor to leave Florida. We’ve been up for two hours already, making sure that every thing is ready. I’ve checked the list twice, made lunch and…

Sure we could turn on the engine and go faster. But sometimes it just doesn’t make sense to go faster. We’re not in a rush and after all, the journey is just as important as the destination. So some days…

The evil Vargas took one look at Thunderball Cave and knew it was the perfect place to hid stolen nuclear missiles. But he didn’t reckon on James Bond saving the day. The making of the movie Thunderball was the biggest…

Beaufort Miles per hour Km per Hour Land Description Sailing Description 0 <1 <1.6 Calm: Still: Smoke will rise vertically. Use the motor 1 1-3 1.6-4.8 Light Air: Rising smoke drifts, weather vane is inactive. Use the motor 2 4-7…

Once upon a time, in a land far up north, 2 desperately cold Canadians boarded a plane and traded in the snow for 2 weeks at a resort in Freeport, Bahamas. Every morning they wandered across the road to the…

Scurvy is a deficiency that is caused by a lack of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in a person’s diet. Vitamin C is essential for the maintenance of the normal structure of the connective tissues. Scurvy causes your teeth to fall…

“But why would you go there? There’s absolutely nothing there, it’s just mangroves. Don’t bother,” my friend said when I told her we were stopping at the Marquesas. We were stopping because it’s a convenient place between Key West and…

Up and down the Keys voices are raised, forks are waved and opinions are shouted as the debate rages on. This is an issue of major importance down here. The issue, the correct topping for Key Lime Pie, meringue or…

Everyday on a sailboat is a learning experience. Sitting at a remote anchorage one day, the thought of sushi crossed my mind (how else was I going to use up 20 lbs of fresh tuna?). I could almost taste the…

Volgas, oxen, horse, bicycles, 1957 Chevrolets, 1954 Buicks, Edsels (with a Volga diesel engine), feet, tractors, Russian camels, trucks, Pontiacs, Ladas (they made a stretch limo version!), buses from Holland, Germany, Italy (all still with the ads in the native…

Cruising teaches self-reliance. In this spirit (and the need for morning toast), I eagerly read the recipes for bread. Forbidden Planet has a 2-burner pressurized alcohol stove and no oven. Regular bread is out, but on the ‘net, I found…

Oh boy was it blowing! There we were, sitting in Tarpon Basin, waiting. And waiting. And waiting. Ever since we’d left the boat yard it had been blowing like stink. I mean 20 – 30 knots daily. We screamed southbound…

If you’ve been to a marina for a large gathering of any kind chances are you’ve seen a set of international code flags, or signaling flags. There’s always at least one boat in a flotilla festooned with flags up the…

Sailboats always have the right of way over powerboats. A sailboat with its engine on is a powerboat, even if it also has the sails up. When 2 boats meet, the boat with the right of way is called the…

Tacking A sailboat cannot go directly into the wind. There is no push/pull and the sail flaps uselessly (check out How a Sail Works). It is common knowledge that wherever you want to go, the wind will be directly on…

A spinnaker or chute is a large (usually bright coloured) sail flown in front of the jib when on a downwind course. When you are on a downwind course your apparent wind decreases. If you want speed, you have to…

In Irons: within 45 degrees of the wind, also known as dead in the water Close Hauled: Sailing as close to the wind as possible, this is also known as pointing Close Reach: Sailing between close hauled and beam reach….

So once you’ve chased down the little beast (or better, bought some from a fisherman), what do you do with your lump of white shellfish? Conch fritters of course! I suspect that it’s a law that every restaurant in the…

There are two ways of getting the edible conch out of its beautiful shell. If you want to save the shell, try method B. A. Using a hammer, make hole in the shell of conch, in space between 3rd &…

Basic Sailboat Terms Rudder: A spade-like object at the back of the boat that steers the boat by deflection of the water. Tiller: The lever that controls the rudder. Larger boats have a wheel instead of a tiller. Winches: A…

Reef knot An excellent general purpose knot for tying two pieces of string or twine together, the reef knot is possibly the most commonly used knot for the job, and is easy to learn. However, it cannot be overly stressed…

4 hands, 2 weeks, 1 set of blueprints equals…..Robbie! Robbie is a Chameleon nesting dinghy designed by Danny Greene of Offshore Designs. If you’re interested in plans, he can be reached at dtgreene@ibl.bm. LOA: 10’4″ stern: 5’4″ bow: 5′ beam:…

Never buy a dinghy just because it’s named after your dead iguana. Someone should have told us this before we forked over the $100 for Spike. But the price was right, and when we heard the name it was a…

Charlie, Ivan, Frances, Jeanne. X marks the spot where Forbidden Planet sits while we are north replenishing the cruising kitty. X takes a direct hit from Hurricane Charlie. Charlie is a Category 4 hurricane. Argh. Forbidden Planet survived Hurricane Charlie….

Think pirate and you think of the Jolly Roger, or as its more commonly known, the skull and crossbones. While the Jolly Roger on the left is the flag we currently know, historically pirates flew many different patterns. The name…

Just call me Iron Charity Flint…. Argh maties, if you want to play pirate you’ll be needing a good pirate name. Here’s a website where you can find your secret pirate name. What’s My Pirate Name?

From Wikipedia: In 2000, the year with the most recorded shark attacks, there were 79 shark attacks reported worldwide, 11 of them fatal. In 2005 and 2006 this number decreased to 61 and 62 respectively, while the number of fatalities…

Long ago, when sailing ships ruled the waves, a captain and his crew were in danger of being boarded by a pirate ship. As the crew became frantic, the captain bellowed to his First Mate, “Bring me my red shirt!”…