Sail Far Live Free

The simplest answer to the question of why I sail is that something deep inside of me is drawn to the wind and the water with the intensity of a double-reefed beat to windward in lumpy seas on a cold and wet Lake Michigan morning. But I have to admit there’s much more to it than that. It’s not just a deep desire to fulfill the yearning inside that keeps me sailing. In an age where consumerism tries to convince us that faster is better and that life is easier lived through our laptops and iPhones, it may seem odd to non-sailors why some of us take to the water in something crassly powered by wind. In fact, maybe it’s not even obvious to those of us who are sailors. Sailors from years ago had an obvious reason to sail. They needed to cross oceans and sailing provided the only means. But steamships brought a new means. In the business of claiming new lands and transporting valuable goods, time is money and steam power equaled speed when compared to a square-rigger wallowing in the do...

The following is an article I wrote for Latitudes & Attitudes Magazine  that is currently on newstands in the June, 2011 edition: Up the Mast By Kevin Walters Sooner or later your mast and the hardware installed on or in it will need inspection, repair or maintenance. Ideally, an inspection of your mast should be done annually. This of course means going up the stick if the mast is already stepped. If your boat isn’t equipped with mast steps or you don’t have specialized mast ascender gear, you can still get the job done with mostly what you already should have on board. The prudent sailor will take the time to learn and practice the procedures to make a successful and safe ascent and descent before they are truly needed. As mentioned, you may need to go up the mast for any number of reasons such as re-taping spreader boots, rigging flag lines, inspecting standing rigging or installing any number of masthead hardware (wind vane, anchor light, antenna, etc.). Therefore...

I spent some free time during this past off season writing about our adventures and experiences on our 3 month cruise in the North Channel.  Several of my musings are set to be published in an assortment of sailing magazines, but the first to hit the newstands is an article I wrote on gunkholing for SAIL Magazine.  The article was published in the March edition of SAIL, but the editors have now gotten around to posting the article on SAIL's website for those who don't get the print edition.  If you haven't read it, check it out below or by clicking through to original article from SAIL here: The Fine Art of Gunkholing by Kevin Walters From SAIL Magazine: The Fine Art of Gunkholing By Kevin Walters • Posted: Mar 10, 2011 July in Lake Huron’s North Channel is a special time. The cruising season is in full swing and what is normally a quiet wilderness area begins to come to life with cruisers looking for the perfect anchorage. Last year my family and I spent nea...

One of the most iconic long-distance sailors and pioneer of the cruising life, Bernard Moitessier, once said: “I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present. In this limitless nation, this nation of wind, light and peace, there is no other ruler besides the sea.” I think a thread of Moitessier’s thoughts about living a life as a citizen of the sea is woven into all of those who have been bitten by the cruising bug. And as such, the cruising community populates the nation of the sea. This week that nation mourns for the tragic loss of four fellow cruisers. By now you’ve probably heard about the sailing vessel Quest, Jean and Scott Adam (owners) and Phyllis Macay and Bob Riggle (guests aboard Quest). These four Americans had their lives needlessly taken from them after being held hostage on their sailboat by pirates. I’m definitely not...

I’m not a winter person, never have been.  The water is just too hard in the winter, as you can see in the pictures below.   And while old Lake Michigan herself seems a foreboding February mistress to this sailor, she still entices me with her beauty.   I can’t deny the attractiveness of ice, snow and sand piled up to form magnificent shoreline scenery.    

The middle of a sailor’s winter here in the Great Lakes is marked by the occurrence of the Strictly Sail show in Chicago at the end of January. Chicago is the perfect host for such a show, with frozen Lake Michigan as a backdrop, skyscrapers creating one the world’s best skylines and deep dish pizza to feed your hunger. The show itself gives you something to look forward to after the holidays are over and helps you ease into your spring maintenance, repairs and upgrades for the coming sailing season. As the nation’s largest indoor all-sailboat show, there’s literally something there for every kind of sailor. Best In Show: Tartan 4300 While many of my favorite bluewater sailboat builders such as Pacific Seacraft, Valiant and Tayana were not at the show, the Tartan 4300 appealed very well to my salty sensibilities. I have nothing against the higher volume production boat builders like Catalina, Beneteau, Jeanneau and Hunter but you immediately notice a different feel when you step aboa...

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...