Sail Far Live Free

"If you have always done it that way, it is probably wrong." -Charles Kettering When I dig down deep, I'm a crusty old salt and I like my boats that way too.  Some that are nearest and dearest to me are full keel double-enders that are slow and porky.  In fact, here's a list of some of my all-time favorites.  Still, I have to admit there's also something appealing about new innovative designs and features, which is what this post is all about.  But before we get to the real topic, indulge in a little nostalgia from the good ole days of bluewater cruising; Remember when "Westsail the World" was a slogan that stirred the soul and beckoned you to go beyond the horizon in search of coconut palms, blue lagoons, and a simple life at sea?  Neither do I, but only because I was born in 1975 and Westsail had already been building and marketing their 32-footer for several years prior.  Production cruising sailboats were on the rise and simple, salty designs

"Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air." -Ralph Waldo Emerson Emerson sums up a life on the water so simply.  For those who enjoy being on the water living in the sunshine, swimming in the sea, and drinking in the wild air is all part of the experience.  Sailing obviously entails plenty of time in the sun, particularly if you like the climate and warmth in the little latitudes like I do.  So if you're going to float and be on the water for any length of time, you'd better have good protection from the sun's UV rays.  Enter the line of clothing from UV Skinz . They have affordable and stylish clothes, or "Sunwear", that offer sun protection for the whole family.  But that's not entirely unique since many clothing brands offer swimshirts and UV protection.  What is unique is that UV Skinz focuses entirely on producing UPF50+ sunwear products.  I also appreciate their family focus and company foundation that didn't begin wit

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold; when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."  -Charles Dickens That's exactly the dichotomy we're seeking with our coolers.  We want just a few cubic feet of shaded winter cold to keep our beverages frosty on those blazingly warm summer days on the water.  Only a decade or so ago it would have been tough to imagine so many choices in coolers.  I mean seriously, we're just talking about an insulated box, so how many different options and competition can there really be? As it turns out, there are plenty of each.  The most recent trend is towards high end and high priced rotomolded coolers.  The sales pitch is that these rotomolded hard-sided coolers keep your stuff colder for longer in a heavy-duty product.  We've been using a variety of the more traditional non-rotomolded plastic coolers from Igloo for years and also a rotomolded Pelican Elite for at

"The sea, the great unifier, is man's only hope. Now, as never before, the old phrase has a literal meaning: we are all in the same boat."  - Jacques Yves Cousteau Jacques may be right about all of us being in the same boat, but that no longer means we all carry the same kind of emergency distress signaling gear.  As I wrote a few years ago when Sirius Signal released their original A-1001 LED SOS distress light, conventional pyrotechnic flares have some serious competition for keeping boaters safe and complying with U.S. Coast Guard regulations. But before we dive into the details, you might be wondering just what is an LED SOS distress light and which USCG regs are relevant.  An LED SOS distress light, often referred to as an electronic Visual Distress Signal Device (eVDSD) in the industry, is simply a battery operated light that flashes SOS in Morse code.  The U.S. Code of Federal Regulations Part 175.130 states that an electric distress light meeting the st

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others." -Jonathan Swift I’ve only tried one pair of Shady Rays , but I can confidently say that these are affordable, quality sunglasses that look good and get the job done.   And if you’re the type of person that wants to feel good about the companies you do business with, Shady Rays gets some points there too.   They are an independent sunglasses company that provides 11 meals for every order to help fight hunger in the U.S. through FeedingAmerica .  To date, they've provided over 2.6 million meals to fight hunger. " Making the best shades for 24/7 action." &  " Live Hard. We Got You. " Those are the bars that Shady Rays has set for their brand of sunglasses.  They're aiming for an audience of active outdoor types...like sailors.  To see if they can live up to the slogans, let's look at how they are constructed and what Shady Rays does to stand behind their product.  Each