Sail Far Live Free

There are a ton of great resources available for new cruisers and those planning to become cruisers, but perhaps the best resource is the sharing of ideas, information and experiences within the cruising community. Some of the best places I’ve found to connect with the cruising community and begin gleaning some of this first-hand knowledge are at online forums such as Sailnet and Cruisers Forum . Additionally, you can get some particularly good insights by reading blogs from other cruisers like those listed in the links in my sidebar. Relatively recently a new online resource for accessing the collective knowledge and experience from cruisers has become available. The following two websites offer a chance to learn by reading answers from cruisers to 10 (or more) common questions that most all of us have before we cast off the docklines and begin life anew traveling and living on our boats. The Interview With a Cruiser Project : Interviews with cruisers who have been outside th...

Book Review The Modern Cruising Sailboat: A Complete Guide to its Design, Construction, and Outfitting   Winter is the time for Great Lakes sailors who haven’t pointed the bow south towards little latitudes to plan next season’s cruises, prepare the spring maintenance list, shop for boat upgrades, learn more about sailing and dream about their “next boat”. Books provide a great means for beginning all of these processes. The Modern Cruising Sailboat (International Marine 2009) by Charles Doane offers a wealth of information useful as a guide for beginning cruising sailors and as an authoritative and nearly comprehensive review for cruising veterans. While mostly directed at the cruising sailor, racers and day sailors will also likely find the book interesting. The book is well written with great illustrations and pictures. The first half of the book covers design and construction and is the most comprehensive at doing so that I’ve read in a book aimed at a cruising au...

It seems like just a month or so ago I was writing a very similar post about our sailboat being covered and ready for her winter hibernation.  Hard to believe it's actually been a whole year.  The cruising season goes by quicker the more miles you put beneath your keel and the longer you stay out.  Even with winter approaching (encroaching!) I've got plenty to keep me busy while the boat is on the hard.  There's planning for next season's cruising adventures, writing about this past season's adventures (been doing lots of that lately), Strictly Sail Chicago in January, reading, researching... Anyway, here's how s/v Island Bound will spend the winter:

Gear Review: Vibram FiveFingers for Sailing/Deck Shoes [For more sailing shoe reviews from SFLF, check these out: A Sailor's Sole: Sailing Shoe Reviews A Sailor's Sole: The Sequel Stand Firm: More Sailing Shoe Reviews Deck shoes seem to be a very personal matter to most sailors. Some swear by Sperry’s TopSiders or Sebago’s Docksider line. Racing sailors often seem to prefer a more snugly fitting athletic shoe with a sole specialized for the deck, such as those offered by Harken. I’ve always been much more casual with my choice of footwear for the boat. Typically you can find me in flip-flops, Crocs or often barefoot while sailing. Crocs provide a bit of protection from stubbing a toe on deck hardware and have a decent amount of grip in wet conditions when they are new. However, the sole loses its’ grip rather quickly, particularly if they are worn on hard surfaces such as asphalt and concrete. Admittedly, flip-flops usually don’t offer much grip, stability or prot...

Another season of sailing (over 1,000 nautical miles on our North Channel cruise alone!), adventure and family growth is now slipping farther astern in our wake.  Island Bound was hauled for the winter over a week ago and I finished up the list of winterization tasks last week.  There's nothing left to do but reflect on where we've been and look forward to where we're going.  I've got a lot to say about the season that was and the season that will be.  However, I've had to lay off the blog posts for a bit to collect my thoughts and prepare some of them for submission as articles to the sailing mags that'll help many of us pass quiet winter evenings in the more northerly latitudes.  If I'm fortunate enough to find a willing publisher, I'll pass on the info here on the blog ( Click here for a previously published article ).  In the meantime, sit back and enjoy some gear reviews, brainstorming about ideas for the 2011 season and other random sailing-r...

As one of my heroes (John Denver) so melodically put it, "Hey it's good to be back home again." But still I have to confess that it is with mixed emotions that I report s/v Island Bound is tucked safely back in her home slip at North Shore Marina in Grand Haven.  And so, the sun has set on our big cruise of 2010, but has only just begun to rise on bigger cruising aspirations.  Stay tuned to read more about dusk on the North Channel cruise and the dawn of future plans. Sunrise over North Manitou Shoal Light sometime way back in June, 2010

Now that we've got about a week of down time while we're taking care of some business and waiting to get back to Island Bound in Charlevoix, I thought I'd share some videos we've shot during the cruise so far.  Enjoy! Meldrum Bay to Gore Bay Covered Portage Cove South Benjamin Island Whalesback Channel Topaz Lake

Charlevoix (Horton Bay) to Suttons Bay: 38NM - July 20 Next on our cruise itinerary was a short 4 day side trip to Grand Traverse Bay. Grand Traverse Bay is another place I’ve visited often from land. I have always longingly looked out at the open blue water imagining myself sailing. I can now attest that the big bay is an excellent sailing location and a cruiser’s paradise. We left Lake Charlevoix in the morning and motored in the very light air direct to Suttons Bay. While there was plenty of room at the marina we decided to stay on the hook in the south end of Sutton’s Bay and use the dinghy for shore side adventures. After anchoring we all quickly put on bathing suits and jumped into the clear, 25 foot deep water to deal with the building humidity. I snorkeled around the anchorage and saw sunken old docks, lost mooring equipment and lots of other unidentifiable pieces of lumber. On shore we met up with my mom and dad (Grammy and Poppa), who just happened to be visiting with some ...

Harbor Springs to Charlevoix (Horton Bay): 25NM - July 16 through 19 Waiting for better weather proved to be a good move as the lake was much calmer the next day and we were able to motorsail with Otto at the helm for most of the 25 nautical miles from Harbor Springs to Charlevoix. N ana, Bumpa and the girls met us in Round Lake in Charlevoix on their boat as we came into the harbor. We all went ashore for lunch and Venetian Festival activities before sailing down Lake Charlevoix to Horton Bay. Ever since I met Erin back in 1990 and started coming with her family to the cottage and Lake Charlevoix I’ve dreamed of sailing down the long, beautiful lake through the blue/green waters. Yet again, our summer cruise has allowed me to realize another of my sailing dreams. We borrowed a mooring ball in Horton Bay and kept the boat moored while Erin, Isabel, Hannah and I soaked up a few days of life ashore. We were able to stretch our legs, catch up on laundry and sleep in a bed with an hon...

Mackinac City to Harbor Springs: 47NM - July 14 & 15 Erin and I got a mid-morning start on the route from Mackinac City to Harbor Springs after enjoying a quiet breakfast together at a restaurant in Mac City. After leaving the marina we quickly passed under the mighty Mackinac Bridge and were in awe of the view from beneath. The weather began to deteriorate as we moved westward towards the abandoned lighthouse east of Gray’s Reef and offshore from the mainland. Waves were building to from 2 to 5 feet and the sky darkened with rain clouds. It wasn’t long before we were motoring into the wind and waves in an intense downpour. Surprisingly, this is one of the few times we’ve need our foul weather gear on this trip. The rain stopped after about an hour and the skies cleared but the seas remained lumpy as made our way past another mid-lake lighthouse (Ile Aux Galets Light) and into the relative protection of Little Traverse Bay. Harbor Springs was busy with summer cruisers so we were...