Posts by Andy Turpin
The Upside of Bilge Diving
If you pride yourself on doing much of your own boat maintenance, you probably spend more hours than you’d like to with your head and shoulders squashed into narrow lockers and bilge compartments.
Ever Found a Stowaway on Board?
In modern times it’s extremely rare for human travelers to stow away aboard sailboats. But over the years we’ve reported on all shorts of freeloading creatures found aboard cruising boats.
Pacific Puddle Jump Signups Begin
The dream of cruising the South Pacific is high on the ‘must-do-someday’ list of sailors all over the world. For well over two decades the annual Pacific Puddle Jump rally has helped fulfill those dreams.
A Warning to Southbound Sailors
Crews heading south to Mexico this winter who’ve upgraded their nav stations with AIS and digital radar will probably feel safer than ever. But there’s one type of offshore obstacle that doesn’t subscribe to AIS and rarely if ever shows up on radar.
Reveling at the Rendez-vous
"Doing the Rendez-vous has been the most fun we’ve had on our entire trip,” said Tara Travers-Stephens with an ear-to-ear grin. She and her husband John had vowed to take part in the annual Tahiti-Moorea Sailing Rendez-vous aboard their Redwood City-based Tatoosh 50. But in order to make good on that promise they had to battle abnormally unsettled wind and sea conditions on their 200-mile crossing from the Tuamotus to Tahiti.
Rose Says Hello
Rose and Frank Corser were both in their mid-30s in 1972 when they set sail from Newport Beach for the Marquesas Islands aboard their 35-ft Seagoer.
The Westward Migration Begins
“Fantastic first day,” reported Charles Wilding this morning from the UK-based Nautitech 40 Wilderness. “Spinnaker up all day; put in second reef at sunset. Winds picked up as predicted… gusting 25.”
Tahiti Transpac in 2020
With a rhumbline distance of 3,570 miles, the Tahiti Transpac’s Los Angeles-to-Papeete course is more than half again the distance from L.A. to Honolulu, sailed biennially in the better-known Hawaii Transpac (2,240 miles). But that’s far from being the only factor that sets these two classic ocean races apart.
Why Iguanas Have Thick Skin
When you live on a boat in the tropics year-round, you adjust to the challenges of wind, rain and extreme heat every day as needs arise — protecting expensive gear from sun damage, attending to leaks, and keeping mold and mildew at bay. More »
2019 Puddle Jump Signups Next Week
What the heck is the Pacific Puddle Jump? It’s a long-established annual migration of cruising sailors from various ports along the West Coast of the Americas to French Polynesia — an ambitious bluewater crossing of 3,000 to 4,000 miles. More »
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