Soundings is the news and feature publication for recreational boaters. Award-winning coverage of the people, issues, events -- and the fun -- of recreational boating. Check out our generous boats-for-sale section and our gunkholing destinations.
Their first boat was a Catalina 22, which Alison and Chris Major of Zeeland, Michigan, bought when their two children were toddlers. They had no previous boating experience, but they had a desire to learn. “Everything that could go wrong went wrong, but we had the right attitude. It was a good adventure,” says Alison. So good, in fact, that they eventually traded up to a Catalina 30, on which they made longer trips, running north to places like Mackinac Island. During the Michigan winters, Alison would continue her sailing education on YouTube, where she was exposed to the idea of a dream cruise. “People were sailing around the world, but I knew we weren’t ready for that. Then I saw the canals in France and wondered if there was…
When you’re boating in the Northeast, one of the nicest destinations to steer toward is Conanicut in Narragansett Bay. The whole island is the town of Jamestown, which is how locals refer to it. Boaters love its simplicity and access. Sheltered coves like Dutch Harbor offer calm moorings and picture-perfect sunsets, while the open water just beyond Beavertail Lighthouse thrills skippers with fast-changing conditions. And there’s always somewhere to go—lunch on the hook in Mackerel Cove, a quick run to Newport, or a longer cruise up the Sakonnet River. Marine photographer and Soundings contributor Onne van der Wal has been a resident of Jamestown for 28 years. He celebrates his home in a new coffee-table book, Jamestown. With decades of experience living and photographing on Narragansett Bay, he brings readers…
Michael Peters grew up in Los Angeles as the son of a professor at the University of Southern California. His dad ran a summer camp on Catalina Island, 26 miles off the coast of Long Beach. The youngster longed for summers there. When Michael was 14, he took over the responsibility of keeping the camp’s ragtag fleet of donated boats operational. He learned how to patch holes in fiberglass and wood hulls, and he immersed himself in understanding how they worked. Today, his boats have won countless championships in offshore powerboat racing, and as many design and innovation awards. Soundings caught up with him after his company moved into a new office in Sarasota, Florida. What prompted your company’s move? A developer bought our building and is planning to tear…
A thick, white fog blankets the tree-lined hills above Sausalito, California. By mid-morning, the sun will burn through the overcast sky, cresting above the treetops. The docks of Pelican Harbor will slowly warm and creak awake as boats roll gently in their slips. The air will hum with the low caws of seagulls and the sharp barks of sea lions. Soon, Lauren de Remer will make her way down the docks to board Tautira, a sleek, white wooden cruiser built in 1930. In another life, this 52-footer’s owner was the film director King Vidor. The boat served as a floating playground for a who’s who of the Los Angeles film scene. During World War II, the U.S. Navy seized her, outfitting the boat as a surplus vessel along the Pacific…
Most people think of Valhalla Boatworks as a builder of high-performance center consoles for anglers with a serious competitive streak. The 55 Sport Yacht is an evolution for this brand. It’s suited for skippers who are less driven to win tournaments, and more interested in laid-back pursuits like entertaining, cruising and gunkholing. It’s also a striking build with lines that are entirely its own. Pat Healey, president and CEO of Viking Yacht Company, the parent company of Valhalla Boatworks, was on board for a preview of the boat in Atlantic City, New Jersey, last summer. “The Sport Yacht has generated incredible enthusiasm. It’s off the charts,” he said. “It takes the proven performance of our V-55 center console and merges it with a contemporary design that the cruising crowd will…
It’s 1814, and the American schooner Prince de Neufchatel sails from Boston. One of the most famous privateers of the War of 1812, Neufchatel raided British merchant ships in the English Channel and beyond until her eventual capture in the Atlantic. In this 10-by-17-inch watercolor, maritime artist Victor Mays renders one of her final days at sea. Adam and Noah Brown built the boat in New York around 1812. for Madame Florry Charretton. The schooner was most likely designed by Christian Bergh. She went to sea in March 1814 and quickly took nine prizes in the English Channel. In June, she took six more. Known for her impressive speed, she could effectively slip away from pursuing ships. In 1814, Neufchatel was involved in one of the most violent privateer clashes…
