Nautical Tales

The recent sinking of the Victory Chimes in New York City was a loss that got me thinking about all the fine historic vessels that I’ve seen deteriorate into oblivion. I’ve written about going out to see the Western Union in Key West, but there’s many others: the General Stone in Florida, the Quinnipiac in Maine, …etc. A friend and I had helped with the Quinnipiac’s crew up rig one year when she was in New London, CT. Now she’s gone too, having slipped her mooring and broken

The ability to “read” the weather is something that fascinates the old sailor in me. Specifically, I love reading about the Polynesian voyagers, but also the ancient Greeks and Phoenicians who once sailed the wine-dark sea of Homer’s time. These men sailed without the modern convenience that we sailors have now; weather apps, weather routing, barometers ... a compass even. When I was sailing on my old sloop Tula, if I were out for more than a week, I was surprised at how in t

I love museums – history nerd that I am – and maritime museums combine both of my obsessions (sailing and history).On vacation, my wife and I found one of the best maritime museums we’ve ever been to in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Housed in the armory and warehouse of the former Dutch East India Company, the National Maritime Museum of the Netherlands displays collections that are unbelievably well done. Additionally, the re-created Dutch East Indiaman floating next to the Mu

“Since ancient times, a handful of men have been drawn to the inaccessible horizon.” - Eric Tabarly, yachtsman My wife and I recently attended a seminar on blue water sailing in Annapolis. Presented by the World Cruising Club it was designed to cover the nuts and bolts of crossing oceans. The World Cruising Club sponsors the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), which started as a way for cruising sailboats to cross the Atlantic Ocean with some degree of safety. It has become

In a world have our cell phones with us 24/7, it’s difficult to imagine a time when ships traversed the world’s oceans with only a basic understanding of where they were. Today “simple” triangulation via global positioning system (GPS) satellites gives even the most timid soul reliable information of their whereabouts to within a few feet. On a ship, in the eighteenth century, there was no such things as reliably knowing your location until you sighted land. The latitude of y