Cruising

Story and photos by Heather Hild-Atwater We were very lucky to be in Antigua the week of April 21-28, 2022! Our flotilla was sandwiched between the Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta and Antigua Race Week. So that means Yachts! Glorious Yachts! We began our adventures at Nelson’s Dockyard in English Harbor, a UNESECO World Heritage site, and so picturesque. There was a lot to see and do here as we set off for a week of what turned out…

By Nate Bayreuther I stood on the bank of my parents’ property overlooking the Niantic River and peered once again through binoculars across the river to the launch ramp in Waterford, CT. It was late afternoon on Thursday, August 4, and I had just arrived to start loading my O’Day Mariner, #1922 Orion, with fuel and gear for the weekend-long Rendezvous beginning the next morning. My first thought, though, was to count how many Mariner masts I…

By Paul Jacobs & Tom McDonald The Discovery Last October, after a splendid autumn sail on our 1990 Catalina 34 Pleiades, my wife Nancy and I returned to her mooring in Wickford Harbor, Rhode Island had some nice wine and cheese in the cockpit, cleaned up, and departed the mooring in our dinghy. Taking the usual track back to NorthWick Marina, I happened to spot a lovely sailboat to starboard that I had not noticed before. I…

By John K. Bullard Cruising Club of America Boston Station, Buzzards Bay Post Besides my membership in the CCA, I have been fortunate to be a lifelong member of the OPYC — the Other People’s Yacht Club — and as such, have been fortunate to sail to some faraway places. After college, I joined the Burnes family in 1969 on a transatlantic race onboard Adele, a 45-foot Ted Hood-designed yawl. Later, we cruised the Irish coast accompanied…

How not to lose your love of sailing By L. South Fulweiler As a child growing up in the Ocean State, I’ve been sailing almost all my life. Many things have come from my long days on the water, including friendships, memories, ungodly sunburns, and unforgettable life lessons. But sometimes the awe factor of sailing fades, and I’m here to say it shouldn’t— not when the sunsets are like fire, the stars like magic, and when each…

Exploring the Island Chains off Cartagena, Colombia By Ruth Emblin Editor’s note: Part 1 of Ruth’s article appeared in our June edition and can be found at https://www.windcheckmagazine.com/article/blue-water-and-islands-everywhere/ On our way back to Tintipán we passed Santa Cruz del Islote, a tiny island completely devoid of vegetation, covered from end to end in buildings. A friendly resident we spent an evening with after we expressed interest in finding out more about the history of this unusual islet told…

Exploring the Island Chains off Cartagena, Colombia   By Ruth Emblin   In March of 2022 we finally set off on a trip that should have happened two years earlier. The anticipation had been building for a long time, as we had heard about the wild beauty of the island chains just off the coast of Cartagena, Colombia. Cartagena, or better, Cartagena de Indias, is a Spanish colonial city on the north Caribbean coast of Colombia. The…

By Jack Griswold, Cruising Club of America Boston Station, Gulf of Maine Post Photos by Zdenka Seiner Griswold, Boston Station, Gulf of Maine Post     In the spring of 2020, Portland shut down. Restaurants closed, theaters, museums, bars, and barber shops all shuttered. And no one was going anywhere by bus, train, or plane. But we had Kite, our cutter-rigged Valiant 42, and we had the coast of Maine, as good a cruising ground as any…

By Stas Holodnak “Do you feel confident enough to brave the rough waters of Lake George in your Sunfish?” asked Julia, a friend from my college days. “Lake George has this narrow shape,” she went on, “and the waves don’t have a place to just die…” “So the waves build up until they become something like from Aivazovsky’s The 9th Wave?” I finished Julia’s thought for her. “Yes, something like that,” she replied. This didn’t jibe with…

Another fantastic Colgate Sailing Adventures® flotilla By Heather Hild Atwater Editor’s note: Flotilla cruising is an excellent way to enjoy an unforgettable charter vacation, particularly if your sailing experience is limited. And you won’t find nicer or more capable flotilla leaders than Heather Hild Atwater & Nate Atwater, who lead Offshore Sailing School’s Colgate Sailing Adventures® Flotilla Cruises to exotic destinations around the world. What do a pilot, a librarian, an artist, a cowgirl and a financial…