Some highlights of the trip.

I'm in the US. I want to learn how to sail but have no access to lessons or purchasing a boat.

What is the most legit way to obtain credentials/training/licensing prior to actually getting in the water?

I want to learn "traditional" navigation too.

Thanks!

I have a 34 footer which I have been waiting to get a good, midrange Chartplotter / GPS unit for. I had been waiting for it to be my very last purchase before heading out thinking that the longer I waited, the better the tech would be for the lowest price. Now, with all the tariff nuttery, I am worried I waited too long, and prices are only going to go up. Given that I need not all the bells and whistles can someone recommend a good, tried and true unit to purchase now? Thanks!

I’ve recently come into a Pearson 30 whose previous owners quite literally never used their freshwater tank. While I have zero intention of drinking this water, I’d like to at least be able to wash my hands in the sink, and thus would like to treat the tank prior to use.

My Google-fu is weak and seems to mostly return suggestions for water additives for long-term storage.

How would you sailors go about an initial shock-treatment on a tank of unknown condition? The waste water tank appears to be fairly new, and so the fresh water may be as well? I honestly don’t know.

I am an American moving to Denmark with my Danish wife. We currently live on Chesapeake Bay just south of Annapolis. We are seriously considering buying a house in Vordingborg. Are there any Danish sailors here who can offer any information in regards to the sailing in that area?

The sailing season is still quite a ways away where I live, and I find myself going through serious sailing withdrawal, in a need for a quick fix. I already watched all of the America's Cup recordings (both historic and recent), and looking for some other races to watch. My criteria is simple:

1. Available to watch for free on YouTube or any other site;
2. Covered from start to finish, not just excerpts;
3. Well filmed and quality coverage with commentators so it's possible to follow what's going on in great technical detail (as well as America's Cup or better);
4. Preferably monohulls, anything from 1-2 sailor dinghies to tall ships.

Any recommendations?

EDIT: what's up with the downvotes? Why the hate?

thanks for answers and best of day!

Edit:
Seems that most answers lead to 20m sleep, never did that before. How managable / hard is it?

You may remember Brock Horner yelling at a kid in another charter boat video a few years back.

But it looks like he has been arrested by local authorities. https://www.fox4now.com/charlotte-county/punta-gorda-police-arrest-charter-boat-captain-brock-horner

Will he be charged by federal officials though? Love to see him charged hot his act of hostility. Title 81

§1652. Citizens as pirates Whoever, being a citizen of the United States, commits any murder or robbery, or any act of hostility against the United States, or against any citizen thereof, on the high seas, under color of any commission from any foreign prince, or state, or on pretense of authority from any person, is a pirate, and shall be imprisoned for life. (June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 774.)

Currently using an Apple Watch Gen 5 and a buddy is using a Gen 10. They both die in ~ 1.5 hours using GPS on the Strava App when not connected to a phone.

Looking to track using something else.
Garmin's Fenix and Qauntix are the only ones in their lineup that list "Sailing" as a sport natively.
I know you can add a Custom Sport to the other models of watch from them. i.e. using the Forerunner 265/965 and just make a "Sailing" custom sport.

Would that still be upload-able to Strava/other tracking apps as a Sailing activity with the course and speeds?

Love to see her floating again.

So, my family and I have chartered a boat twice in the BVI, once for 9 days and a second time for 10. We have never done much on St Thomas (Magen's Bay & a couple restaurants), and have only stepped foot on St John to check back into the US (our water taxi guy said it was faster to do it that way).

We're heading down again for a third time, and this time we will start our charter in St Thomas (always started at Road Town in the past). Is there enough to see and do between St Thomas/ St John that we should plan to stay in the US (9 or 10 days), or should we plan to do a few days in the BVI as well?

We like to sail, snorkel, scuba dive, SUP, hike, etc. Prefer beach bars and shacks to fancier restaurants. I feel ambivalent because I feel like we have previously missed out on discovering St John, but at the same time it's hard for me to imagine going all that way and *not* going to the Indians, the baths, and Anegada.

What do you guys think, new horizons or old stomping grounds?

Yeah I browse the websites for yachts I’ll never be able to afford.

As the title suggests I’m after a trailerable day sailer. I’m about 6’4 and 250. I want something I can comfortably sail all day with 2 other crew or by myself. What’s out there? Located in New England if that helps. Cheers!

Nothing to say here, sorry

Edit: ((thanks alot for the advices and information!))

Has anyone used Injectadeck on their boat? Or any other types of injectable fill? I’ve heard good things, but wanted to see if anyone had thoughts!!

Hello,

I have a three and a half ton full keel sailing boat and I am looking to swap out the anchor rode, but I am unable to make a decision between the type of it.

I would prefer to use a nice strong polyester or nylon webbing rode with three meters of chain connecting to the anchor. I find this to save space, weight and be much easier to store, but this would keep me from installing a windlass or have a use for one if I install one. I have yet to find a windlass which would work with such line and not cost an arm and a leg. Line of this type would also give more to shock absorption.

Alternatively I would also be happy with chain, but this would require me to build an anchor locker to the stern and carry much more unnecessary weight onboard. Although this would allow me to have a windlass with an actual use to, not to mention it would aesthetically be more pleasing as well. In the other hand I'd lose a significant amount of shock absorption.

What are your personal preferences? What are you using? Do you have a windlass? Is it worth it?

So depth, speed, wind, and plotter etc. So far I've found this, but I would love to hear your suggestions for better options, or advice for possible cheaper alternatives. Boat will be used on Great Lakes and the Grand Traverse Bay.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/516433

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/799286

so I need one of these for my alcort mini fish, but I cant seem to find any of them that are good quality. anyone know how to find them?

Can a gaff ketch rig be considered a schooner rig? What exactly defines a schooner rig? Does a difference in mast height mean it can no longer be classified as a schooner?

I'm considering moving back to Europe (specifically Spain) in the next few weeks after spending the last 20 years in Canada.

One big factor for location for me is being able to continue sailing. I would like to be able to buy a sailboat and spend as much time as possible on the water. So I’m trying to wrap my head around how marina slips work in Spain, particularly around Barcelona.

Have been doing some research online on both availability and cost, but couldn't really find great answers, so figured I would ask here in case someone is knowledgeable before emailing every single marina.

Availability: If I base myself in or around Barcelona (and am willing to drive say up to ~1 hour in either direction), what are my chances of finding a berth for a ~35 ft sailboat? Are most marinas full with long waitlists, or is there some availability further from bcn?

Cost: From what I’ve gathered, Spain has a system (TPU) where you buy the right to use a slip for a long period (often ~30 years), and then pay monthly maintenance or service fees on top. I imagine the price of this TPU varies greatly with the desirability of each marina but what would that look like in an average marina a bit out of town?

I’ve seen prices from €50,000 to €200,000 for a 15m berth on sites like marinaberth.com, that sounds... crazy? Maybe I have only been looking at "select" marinas though.

Any hindsight would be appreciated!

P.S.: My second choice where I have family would be San Sebastian (+ I love surfing), definitely not as good as BCN for sailing, but if anyone as any hindsight about the situation in Gipuzkoa and around I would be interested as well.

Thanks!

Fiction or nonfiction, set in the late ninteenth to mid-twentieth centuries.

Hey sailors,

I've been dreaming of doing a transatlantic crossing for years, even though I have no previous sailing experience. Recently, I found a skipper willing to take me along. He's got over 30 years of experience, been a long time sailing instructor and has done multiple crossings before. We're on a capable racing/cruising sloop from the 80s that seems structurally sound and had it rigging inspected.

However, I’m having doubts about whether this is a safe or wise situation to stay in.

The skipper is in his 70s and has some physical limitations — bad knees, diminished eyesight and hearing, and possibly some memory issues. The other crew member has sailing experience but is not a skipper and wouldn’t be able to take over full control of the vessel if needed.

One concern is the drinking. On off-days, 8 beers plus rum isn't unusual. It’s less on the boat, but still present despite the skipper setting a limited drinking hour for himself that he disrespected on our first rough sailing day. Maybe that's normal in sailing circles — I really don't know — but it worries me.

Before we left port, I woke up to the sound of water flowing. A hose connected to the sink (and leading through the hull via a seacock) had popped off. I managed to reattach it before things got worse. There were no clamps on the hose, which seems like a basic safety issue.

There are lots of smaller problems, especially with the electrical system. The alternator stopped working, and there’s a mess of wires and batteries connected in ways that don’t really make sense to me (I know electronics, but I’m not sure what’s standard in boats). I haven’t found the right moment or position to inspect everything fully, and maybe it’s not in my skills set — but it does worry me. At the least I feel like I'd need to demand a professional to run everything through.

I found a loose shackle of the mainsail's runner. After that I inspected all other shackles I could find and found multiples that I could easily give a more than a full twist. He said he knew about some of them that he replaced and forgot, but I'm wondering if this should a basic thing to run through before setting of on a big trip like this.

The first leg of the trip was from Guatemala to Isla Mujeres, which is where I am now. Soon I’ll need to fly to Miami for visa reasons, and the plan is to rejoin the boat there and continue on to Bermuda, the Azores, and then England. Miami would be a place to do some more repairs/preps for parts that wouldn't be available easily in Guatemala and Mexico.

This first leg was already very rough. We were caught in an unexpected gale with high waves. The solar panels were ripped off and had to be dumped at sea — they clearly weren’t well-attached, and I realized after the fact that I should have noticed. Maybe the gale was more extreme than usual, but it’s hard to tell.

Also, during the gale, the furling line on the foresail slipped because the stopper knot had come undone. The sail violently unfurled and it was hard to bring it back down. At at least one point, I saw the skipper on deck without his lifeline.

During the gale the skipper fell down the stairs, taking the handle with him and he couldn't get up without my help. His arm hurts but he seems to be fine, yet silently hurting.

Add to that communication issues — a mix of hearing loss, some mumbling, and language barriers — and I’m starting to wonder if this is just too risky.

And to add to it both the skipper and the other crew member seem to be in agreement about many conservative talking points that I highly detest, however I am also a curious one that is excited about that understanding better where those views come from.

So here’s my question: Is this kind of chaos just part of sailing life and I should toughen up and learn from it? Or are these serious red flags that mean I should bow out before we cross the Atlantic?

Thanks in advance for your perspectives.

If anyone has renovated Maxi fenix dinette interjor, would you please share photos? I would like to get inspiration to renovate mine 😃, thanks.

How do you figure out where you can legal anchor? Or if mooringballs are available?

Is there a chart book of the eastern seaboard (USA) that y’all like?

What do you like for weather monitoring? Or is this normally done by onboard radar?

Thanks!!!

Montevideo 43. Doing an offshore jump from Tampa at first light. Headed for Pensacola if the weather holds, with backup plans for Carrabelle or Panama City. Wish us luck