We originally planned to run a piece on how the crazy kids of SV The Crooked Anchor ended up with a 5 foot Burmese python as a stowaway, however, being on the cusp of the 2025 hurricane season, we also received a nice article from the same folks on what they do when a hurricane comes.
When looking for a cruising boat, scouring the internet on websites like yachtworld, sailboat listings or even Facebook marketplace, you might come across a number of boats located in the Pacific Northwest.
Isla San Francisco, located off the eastern coast of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico, is a part of the Espiritu Santo Archipelago and renowned for its untouched wilderness. As a protected area, the island remains largely undeveloped, offering visitors a chance to immerse themselves in a pure natural environment.
Boats are like potato chips, it’s hard to have just one. My husband Jim and I have lived aboard boats for decades and at one point we owned three boats of 40-feet or greater (yes, we have the boating bug badly!) However, in the last few years we whittled our “fleet” down to just one 40-footer, a Willard trawler.
There are songs about sailing, but not about golf. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Beach Boys, Lyle Lovett, Jimmy Buffet, Phish, and Christopher Cross are amongst those whose song lyrics have imparted important life guidance delivered through sailing (or boating) metaphors. Sailing and golf can each be described as sports, hobbies, or passions and they are, similarly, both significantly impacted by the weather.
Luke and Adam Martin are brothers from Cardiff, South Wales in the United Kingdom. Their story is not just about sailing. It’s a testament to the human spirit’s capacity for resilience, courage, and adventure. As they progress from the tranquil waters of the Bristol Channel to the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean, their tale unfolds with every wave and wind gust. The brother’s love of sailing traces back to their childhood, where they sailed dinghies with their father.
Word spreads quickly amongst cruisers when a safe anchorage is discovered, or a friendly harbor is found.Safe, all-weather, predictable inlets are also high on the list of information to share. It just so happens all three of these features exist in the St. Mary’s River dividing the states of Florida and Georgia.The St. Mary’s River inlet separating Florida and Georgia, carries 45 feet at mean low water through its wide well marked entrance.
Hurricanes, who doesn’t love a good hurricane? Just about every boater on the planet! Like death and taxes, we all have to deal with them at one time or another. In my case, in 25 years living on the Gulf Coast I have had to deal with 5. The last one being Hurricane Michael! So how do we as boaters decide what to do to save our boats? Anyone you ask has their own answer. Then some beast like Michael shows up. It didn’t matter what you did or where you were unless you were 100 miles away, your boat is toast.
I think it is important to begin this story with a description of its main characters. Triteia is my beautiful 1965 sloop rigged sailboat which safely brought me to the remote islands and atolls of the South Pacific by way of Hawaii, by way of Los Angeles. My name is James, people who don’t know me and see me from a distance might describe me as looking part hobo, part LA hipster and part ex-convict. Those that do know me, well they might describe me in the same way or maybe worse.
How would you like to charter a boat in a country that has 450 islands, lies in the tropical Caribbean, has the second largest barrier reef in the world, has three of the four atolls in the Caribbean, has very few other boats, and speaks English? If you answered yes, you need to charter a boat in Belize and you have two different choices as far as itineraries…northern or southern Belize.
