Sail Far Live Free

Hannah at the helm this past weekend

"Live your life, do your work, then take your hat." - Henry David Thoreau Sometimes it's the little things that make a big difference on the water. Take for example the Cruiser Hat from Sunday Afternoons . It's just an outback style hat (Seen lots of those before!) but it's light weight, breathability and sun  protection will have your neck, face and eyes thanking you when you slip below to the cabin at night. While none of that is necessarily new for wide brimmed hats, at less than $40 it's a real bargain compared with some of the other sun hats you might be familiar with that are suitable for sailing. I've been wearing mine this spring and almost always forget that it's even on because it's so light and airy. Another cool feature: The insides of the brim (3" front/sides, 4" on back) are foam, so the hat floats if you forget to use the chinstrap during your next windy sailing adventure. I also like that it packs flat without lo

A Painted Sky by K. Walters

"I watched with horror and stunned disbelief as the wave carried her aft. I leaped after her. She was already most the way off the boat when the backs of her legs snagged the upper lifeline. A split second later I had a death grip on her thighs. I tried to drag her back into the boat, but I couldn't overcome the force of the water." - John Kretschmer from  Sailing a Serious Ocean After reading many sailing blogs and books and talking to lots of people, I'm pretty certain that the following three fears are prominent among many sailors: 1) Big (really big) waves 2) Sinking/capsizing 3) Crew overboard Today I'm going to summarize our crew-overboard procedure. I'm doing so both to share it with you and to make sure it's clear in our own heads and hopefully refine it based on feedback from readers. First, let me say that I truly believe most crew-overboard emergencies can be avoided completely by careful planning, safety equipment and aware

Easy Reaching by K. Walters