The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway (Atlantic ICW) is a continuous and mostly protected navigable route from Norfolk, Virginia, to Miami, Florida. Originally conceived in 1802 for commercial use, today it is primarily used by recreational vessels. However, light-draft commercial vessels, along with small tugs pulling barges, will make use of the ICW to avoid exposed open-ocean Read More
In July, my family rolled four wheelbarrows filled with bedding, frozen meals, and enough clothing to last two and a half weeks, down the docks of Harbor East Marina in Baltimore, Md. When my dad started planning this trip, my first thought was “no thanks.” I was starting college next fall and wanted to spend Read More
Now that Americans can legally travel to Cuba by boat, we jumped at the opportunity to organize a voyage to the island for more than 100 of our fellow Ocean Reef Yacht Club members. Our flotilla of 17 boats began at the Stock Island Marina Village in Key West, where the staff and facilities are Read More
A spectacular cruising destination and a dream trip for many Great Lakes boaters, the journey to the Straits of Mackinac is a vacation of a lifetime! Boaters cruise north across Lake Huron, enter the Straits of Mackinac and then enter the adjoining Lake Michigan. As they pass from one Great Lake to another, the largest Read More
If you are visiting from another part of the country, chartering a boat in Anacortes or Bellingham is a great way to cruise the San Juan Islands in Washington state. Last year, Peter and I chartered a power catamaran from San Juan Yachting in Bellingham for a five day cruise. We were novices to a Read More
A spectacular North American cruising ground was shaped by a big bang 35 million years ago when a comet or asteroid slammed into what is now the lower tip of the Delmarva Peninsula. That impact left a crater 55 miles wide that became a convenient depression for rivers to flow into as the glaciers of Read More
Ask any Looper, “What is your favorite memory of the Great Loop?” and the answer will undoubtedly be, “The people.” This would ring true as we continued our journey up the Hudson River in mid-June. The staff members at the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, N.Y., were part of that special group of people who Read More
After many years of cruising our Nautilus 36 Pilothouse Sailboat in the summers on Lake Ontario, my wife (and co-captain), Erica, and I decided to avoid the Canadian winters and try out the live-aboard lifestyle in southern Florida. As we all have learned, it’s easy to purchase a boat, but the real challenge is in Read More
It’s a bit painful for me to write this — painful the way it is when you’ve got a really good secret and don’t want to divulge it but know you must. Because here’s the thing: A trip to the tropical isles of Culebra and Vieques — nestled between Puerto Rico and St. Thomas, and Read More
Of all the European nations busy colonizing the Caribbean during the golden age of sail; Denmark is the least likely to pop up in the mind of present-day sailors. The Danes, however, started colonies on St. Thomas in 1665 and St. John in 1683. West Indian sugar was the driving force behind colonization then. Slave Read More