Sail Far Live Free

Visiting the Strictly Sail show in Chicago has quickly become one of Erin and I's favorite mid-winter traditions. While looking at a sailboat inside of a big convention center in January isn't nearly as fulfilling as feeling the boat heel in a fresh July breeze, we still enjoy the opportunity to browse the new selection of production craft from the big manufacturers and see what innovations show up at the exhibitor booths. Below are some of my quick impressions and photos from the 2013 show. Best In Show: Com-Pac 23 Pilothouse Sure, there were plenty of big boats that were more predictable winners like the Blue Jacket 40, Beneteau Oceanis 45, or Delphia 47, but the Com-Pac 23 offers an amazing accommodation plan in an affordable, trailerable package that's downright shippy! This little yacht was introduced earlier in 2012, but this was my first chance to take a look. She would make a perfect little pocket cruiser for a couple. There's a lot of live-ability in ...

He's back! Ted Brewer is back as a guest blogger here at Sail Far Live Free , and I'm thrilled to share his perspective on metal sailboats. If you've been following my blog, you know that I occasionally like to feature guest posts from prominent sailing personalities that I think can offer some knowledge, perspective, and unique thoughts to my personal interest in sailboats, cruising, and the sailing life. Ted took a little break from his somewhat regular musings here on Sail Far Live Free to cope with a fall that messed up some of the tendons in his hand, a bout with the flu, and an eightieth birthday. But now that he's back on track (and still cranking out sailboat design work!), I asked him to share his thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of metal sailboats. In fact, Ted was working on plans for a 45' steel hulled cutter with an aluminum deck for a client in Russia when I contacted him recently. What follows is Ted's response to my request for in...

Winter's Halftime (photo by K. Walters)

For those of us in the bigger latitudes, sailing can be really cold during the winter months. It's about this time that my mind always begins to set sail somewhere in the South Pacific. This is fitting since this is also the time of year that many cruisers are staging in California and Mexico for the Pacific puddle jump . Sailboats heading to French Polynesia, the Marquesas, the Tuamotus and beyond typically depart sometime in March or April to cross the Pacific. Crossing the Pacific is no small feat and encompasses the longest single stretch of bluewater open ocean sailing available on planet Earth. Most of the sailboats making the crossing will be at sea anywhere from 2 weeks to over a month. Landfall is a sweet reward! There's always a few boats that blog about their trip through the Pacific and some post nice video recaps of the journey. To set the stage for "crossing season" and to get a winter sailing fix,  the sailing videos below will take your mind away f...

"Needles and pins, needles and pins, Sew me a sail to catch me the wind. Sew me a sail strong as the gale, Carpenter, bring out your hammers and nails. Hammers and nails, hammers and nails, Build me a boat to go chasing the whales. Chasing the whales, sailing the blue, Find me a captain and sign me a crew. Captain and crew, captain and crew, Take me, oh take me anywhere new." Pirate Dreams by Shel Silverstein Remember about a year or so ago when the video of the whale breaching right on top of a sailboat went viral? Or maybe you read the story I relayed from s/v Wondertime about the whale that wreaked havoc on a cruising boat in Niue . Those poor sailors might have been some of the inspiration for the Whale Alert mobile phone app that was recently released by EarthNC. The Whale Alert app is designed as a ship-strike reduction effort to benefit right whale conservation, but you can use it too! The app uses data from NOAA's passive acoustic  buo...

Snow on the beach in Charlevoix, Michigan (photo by K. Walters)

"If passion drives you, let reason hold the reins." - Benjamin Franklin It's a new year, but I'm not one who typically buys into the New Year's resolution hype or the rhythm of starting something over every January. Sure, I could stand to drop a few pounds and curb a habitat or two this coming year, but I don't feel the need to proclaim it to myself or anyone else as Ryan Seacrest wishes us all a happy new year at 12:00:01am. But this year is different. I've set some goals for this blog and am resolved to finish 2013 several steps closer to living a sailor's life than I did in the year I'm leaving behind. Nope, 2013 will not be the year my family and I sail away, but I'm confident the sailing and cruising we do will continue to be meaningful and fulfilling. However, when I'm honest with myself, I know that my passion for sailing and a watery life is sometimes being held back because reason is holding the reins. Maybe Mr. Franklin woul...

Above the Palms (Osprey on Cayo Costa by K. Walters)

"The sea is a great university of the story-telling art." -Norman Freeman I really enjoy writing content for SailFarLiveFree.com . In fact, writing sailing related content is second only to time spent with my family and actual sailing in bringing me fulfillment. The more I write and the more I get to interact with readers, the more I find I'm inspired to continue writing. So thank you to my longtime readers, new readers who have started following my blog sometime during 2012, and to all those who comment and contact me. There's a lot of great bloggers in the sailing and cruising community and I also get a lot of inspiration and enjoyment out of reading their content. And so, this blog post is an attempt to recognize and thank some of my fellow sailing bloggers. If you read SailFarLiveFree via the webpage (as opposed to an RSS feed or email subscription), you're probably familiar with a lot of my favorite sailing bloggers from seeing them listed in my blog r...

Storm Warning ( by K. Walters, Grand Haven, MI) NOAA & the National Weather Service are forecasting a storm warning for the next couple of days on Lake Michigan: THIS STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THURSDAY TO 4 PM CST FRIDAY. THE STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT. * WINDS...NORTH TO NORTHWEST STORM FORCE TO 55 KT . * SIGNIFICANT WAVES...TO 25 FT. * OCCASIONAL WAVES...TO 33 FT. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A STORM WARNING MEANS WINDS OF 48 TO 63 KNOTS ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING. RECREATIONAL BOATERS SHOULD REMAIN IN PORT...OR TAKE SHELTER UNTIL WINDS AND WAVES SUBSIDE. COMMERCIAL VESSELS SHOULD PREPARE FOR VERY STRONG WINDS AND DANGEROUS SEA CONDITIONS...AND CONSIDER REMAINING IN PORT OR TAKING SHELTER IN PORT UNTIL WINDS AND WAVES SUBSIDE.