Category: Cruising Inspiration
-
Boater’s Guide to North Carolina
North Carolina is one of the nation’s boating gems. Its unusual variety of boating conditions makes boating enjoyable, and its boating-friendly culture means you’ll feel welcome in every coastal town. The Tarheel State is home to many charming small towns that welcome cruising boaters as guests. Dinghy docks and free town docks are more common…
-
Boater’s Guide to Maine
Arriving by boat to the coast of Maine for the first time is like landing on an alien planet. At least it was for this Florida boy, who had never been to the state before by land or sea. Everything is different in Vacationland: You don’t worry about sandbars, you worry about rock ledges. There…
-
Treats and Goodies We’re Missing From The Bahamas
Before heading to the islands, many cruisers spend a lot of time worrying about provisioning for the Bahamas. They worry they won’t be able to find X, Y, or Z — or that the prices will be too much to bear. We always like to remind people that the locals eat, too. And while things…
-
Making the Ultimate Great Loop Map: Great Loop Route and Alternate Routes
There is a wealth of advice and planning available online about the Great Loop route, but this document has been prepared to help dreamers understand it. It also details all the fantastic side trips and Great Loop alternate routes you might have heard of, like the Triangle Loop or the Downeast Circle Loop. Once you’ve…
-
How Not to Drag Anchor: Lessons Learned from Ten Years Living Aboard
The internet (along with every dock-tail party and cruiser potluck) is chock full of anchoring advice. Most of it centers around one anchor being better than another. Curiously, nearly all participants believe that their anchor is the best choice. Sounds like confirmation bias, doesn’t it? We’ve spent most nights at anchor since we started living…
-
Navigation Notes: Picking an Anchorage
How do you choose an anchorage? At first, it seems an easy question, but experienced boaters will tell you that it’s one of the most complex skills you’ll have to learn during your first year of cruising. Day boaters seldom anchor; if they do, it’s for a “lunch hook” and not for sound sleep or…
-
Navigation Notes — A Guide to US East Coast Inlets
Depending on where you are in the world, inlets have different names. In the Bahamas, they call them cuts. Out West, they refer to the ‘bar crossing’ when coming in and out to sea through the mouth of a river. But on the East Coast, we call them inlets: river mouths or breaks in the…
-
Navigation Notes — Crossing the Gulf Stream for the First Time
For boaters trekking to The Bahamas for the first time, the Gulf Stream can seem like the most intimidating stretch of ocean imaginable. It is, after all, one of the most powerful forces on earth, churning billions of gallons of seawater out of the Caribbean and shooting it toward Europe at up to three knots. …
-
Getting Ready to Boat to The Bahamas Checklist
Traveling to a new cruising destination can be stressful, but going across the Gulf Stream and legally getting into a new country is another matter. Cruising The Islands of The Bahamas is a magical experience, but there’s a lot to know, and it can seem like too much trouble. It isn’t, and it’s well worth…
-
Boater’s Guide to Florida — East Coast
Even the state motto, “The Sunshine State,” speaks to glorious beaches and warm winters. As places go, Florida is a little bit wacky and eccentric. There’s a sometimes uncomfortable mix of retirees, snowbirds, college students, working families, and vacationers coming from all over the world. There’s a constant, delicate balance of a fragile ecosystem that…