Innehållsförteckning för May 2025 från Cruising World

Preparing your diesel engine for the upcoming season is a task not to be feared, as long as you follow a thorough checklist and take your time to ensure that each step is completed correctly. Here’s a guide to help you navigate the basics of the de-winterization process, and to ensure reliable performance and optimal engine health throughout the sailing season. 1. Inspect the engine compartment. Start by looking for any signs of damage, leaks or corrosion that may have occurred during the winter months. Check all hoses, belts and connections for cracks, wear or deterioration, and replace any damaged components as needed. 2. Change the engine oil and filter. Drain the old engine oil and replace it with fresh, high-quality diesel-engine oil of the recommended grade. Also, replace the…

Way back when, several decades ago, I scored my first ride aboard a cruising trimaran: a sweet, cold-molded beauty called Juniper. Today, naval architect Chris White is well-known for his long line of Atlantic catamarans, all of which are laid out with his signature feature: a forward cockpit for the helm and sail controls (something that several notable designers and brands, including Gunboat, have copied). White has always been a multihull man, and it’s interesting that for his own first boat, he chose a tri, on which he completed several offshore voyages from New England to the Bahamas. Personally, I loved Juniper, an elegant creation that sailed like a witch. And it had a beautiful, handcrafted wood interior. But to me, the yacht’s basic configuration also seemed like a major…

THE 2024 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers was big on numbers: 234 yachts, the 39th running of the transatlantic rally, 45 multihulls—and a half-dozen pets. The biggest among them was Snow, the Great Dane who made the crossing on the Belgian-flagged—ahem—Great Dane. “Snow is probably the largest dog to have ever sailed with the ARC,” says Rachel Hibberd, the head of communications for the World Cruising Club. Snow weighs in at around 160 pounds and stands just over 3 feet tall. She eats more than a pound and a half of dog food a day, plus lots of snacks. There’s a special spot at the business end of her family’s 2018 Fountaine Pajot Saona 47, off the port pontoon for… “We get asked that a lot: Where does she do her…

The Will To WIN The wild world of long-distance solo yacht racing was launched by a select crew of relative madmen, guys like Robin Knox-Johnston and Eric Tabarly. But the sport has evolved in many ways over the years, and a long list of courageous women has since leveled the playing field, giving the he-men all they can handle. As a sailing journalist, I had the pleasure of covering some of the early pioneers, including Isabelle Autissier and Ellen MacArthur. Still, at the time, theirs was a lonely pursuit in more ways than one. Today, what’s more uncommon is a marathon oceanic event without a strong female presence. For instance, in each of the past two round-the-world Vendée Globe races, there have been a half-dozen women entrants. Most were French,…

Lifelong friendships can be born at sea, but sometimes, camaraderie falters on long passages. After more than four years of cruising, five ocean crossings across 1,500 nautical miles, and hearing countless stories from my peers, I’ve realized that there are ways to help ensure positive relationships on board. Whether you’re joining someone else’s boat as a skipper or crewmember or taking a captain or crewmember on your own vessel, the trick is to work out the kinks prior to casting off the lines. First, shipmates should interact with one another and visit the vessel. They should explore attitudes, personalities, confidence levels, enthusiasm, and degrees of commitment to the journey. Everyone should have similar expectations and goals. Fine-tuning the experience involves assessing the boat’s seaworthiness as well as the qualifications, diet,…

There is something quite majestic about standing atop the Knysna Heads, the prominent headlands fronting the town of Knysna along South Africa’s rugged southern shoreline. To seaward, the deep-blue waters of the wild Indian Ocean beckon. Inshore, the lagoon in the protected harbor is placid. It seems fitting that this port is where the Vision line of cruising catamarans is built and launched. The Vision 444 ES will be right at home in either venue—as a liveaboard cat in calm waters or knocking off steady miles in the open ocean. In the past two editions of Cruising World’s annual Boat of the Year contest, we’ve had up-close opportunities to inspect a pair of Visions. For 2024, the Vision 444 earned top honors as the Best Cruising Catamaran Under 50 Feet.…

“MY CREW HAD BROKEN ONE OF MY MOST IMPORTANT RULES: TO inform the skipper immediately IF THEY SAW ANYTHING SUSPICIOUS.” In my long and eventful sailing life, I have been in several emergency situations. In every case, I was able to deal with them. Fitting out the first Aventura myself taught me the importance of being self-sufficient, and ever since then, I have attempted to do all that is necessary to be prepared for the worst. One golden rule that I have learned is not to panic. Calm is crucial in an emergency situation. Take time to assess the situation, draw up a plan of action, and then act. As Mike Johnson, a former fighter-jet pilot and mountaineer, told me: “We use a simple acronym for most of our decision-making: DODAR. Diagnose…

FIT TO Cruise Seven years ago, I never imagined I’d become a runner. In fact, I used to hate it. But I took it up for my health, and surprisingly, it stuck. Then, about four years ago, I added strength training to my routine—another activity I once disliked. Looking back, I’m incredibly grateful for these changes. They’ve transformed my experience of cruising, allowing me to feel better every single day. It is a common refrain among cruisers that just living a cruising lifestyle will keep you in shape. To a degree, that’s true. You will certainly stay in better shape than if you lived a more sedentary lifestyle. However, it’s easy to overestimate your health compared with your potential fitness. After I got started, I realized that I had a…

Not long ago, a client told me that the diver who routinely cleans her sloop’s bottom and changes the zincs was reluctant to install the aluminum anodes that I had recommended. He told her that they would cause, rather than deter, corrosion. This isn’t an unusual occurrence for me. Often, a well-meaning industry professional—who might be quite experienced in a certain field but otherwise has no formal training whatsoever in corrosion analysis—tells a boat owner something that could have a lasting effect. In my experience, corrosion is far and away the most misunderstood, and most misdiagnosed, phenomenon within the marine industry, with electricalsystem issues a close second. When bad information happens to my good clients, my goal is to educate rather than denigrate those who are misinformed. I’d rather create…

Like father, like son. In 1984, J/Boats launched its first cruising sailboat, the J/40, designed by company founder Rod Johnstone. Right out of the box, it was named Best Domestic Cruiser by our sister publication, Sailing World (Cruising World had not yet launched a Boat of the Year program of its own). That boat had a 10-year production run, with 86 hulls launched. It was a popular family boat and, at the same time, successful in notable events such as the Newport Bermuda Race and the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. Fast-forward to 2024, when the company introduced another 40-foot cruiser, this one designed by Rod’s son, Al Johnstone. Again, right out of the box, the all-new J/40 landed atop the podium, this time as Cruising World’s Best Full-Size…

The late, great Larry Pardey—who, as a sailor, was ahead of his time in so many ways—was the most competitive cruiser I’ve ever met. Like many cruising sailors (myself included), Pardey was influenced as a young man by round-the-buoys and nearshore racing, long before he set off for distant horizons. And through the many books and articles that he co-authored with his wife, Lin, it was quite clear that he undertook the pursuit of offshore voyaging in a calculated, efficient manner. To Larry, solid seamanship was the art of sailing safely, but also quickly and efficiently, with optimal sail trim and razor-sharp maneuvers at all times. The attention to detail ensured fast passages, which were always the ideal ones. As the Pardeys’ editor and a reader, I knew all this…

As I pulled on the 11-foot carbon oars under a hot July sun, I reflected on my seeming inability to cross Washington state’s Rosario Strait in a normal fashion. Not two months prior, I had dashed across the 5 nautical miles of open water amid a small-craft advisory, a day when 20-knot gusts and a wind-against-tide sea state had threatened to overhaul Lazydog’s gunwales. Yet here I was, with growing blisters and diminishing daylight, trying my best to crab my way toward Matia Island against the flood tide and a precarious possibility of ending up in the Strait of Georgia. The launch ramp in Fairhaven, Washington, had been seven hours ago, serving as my starting point for a four-day weekend and a mini cruise in the San Juan Islands. My…