Innehållsförteckning för June 2024 från Soundings

It’s no secret that readers of Soundings are sharp. The joke among our staff is that when it comes to boats, these salty and seasoned subscribers are so knowledgeable and resourceful we sometimes wonder if we belong in the same wheelhouse with this crowd. And that’s just one of the things that makes this work so enjoyable. We’re constantly learning things from the people who read this magazine. Just this week, I was reviewing the story on page 52 of this issue, about the owner of a Rosborough RF-246. I knew the boat had a good backstory as it was one of the first “pocket trawlers” on the production boat market when it was built in 1987 by Bob Rosborough in Nova Scotia. I also knew that after about 25…

In addition to celebrating its 45th anniversary, North Carolina’s Albermarle Boats is adding a new model to its line of sportfishermen. The 45 Carolinian Fish Around Express, measures 45 feet LOA with a beam of 13 feet, 6 inches and rides on a Carolina-style hull. It’s slated to launch in 2025. “The fisharound layout on the new 45 is like nothing Albemarle has built before,” says Burch Perry, the company’s general manager. “It’s a super fishy design with 360-degree access around the boat, yet it still provides excellent weather protection and accommodations belowdecks. It’s also our largest outboard boat to date.” With a draft of 2 feet, 2 inches, the 45’s hull will be vacuum-infused with vinylester resin and foam core. Designed by Steve Matthews, the hull has distinctive Carolina…

Jeanne Socrates has a to-do list with serious purpose. Nereida, her 2009 Swedish-built Najad 380, is almost at the point of needing a refit. Her most recent ocean passage, from Mexico to the South Pacific, left the boat with deck hardware problems. It may be necessary to re-rig again. The upcoming work will be extensive. “She’s seen a lot of action,” Socrates says. “She’s been around the world three and a half times, around Cape Horn three times. She’s done pretty well. I need to make sure everything is OK so I can keep cruising.” And time, as they say, is everything. Nereida, as of early March, was based at New Zealand’s North Island. The weather window to cruise from there to Tonga will reopen in May, after the cyclone…

Mark and Fiona Rammell (shown above) spent a lot of years doing what people tend to think of as the right things. He was a pilot for Air New Zealand for more than three decades, flying the long hauls to Los Angeles. She was a primary school teacher who went on to specialize in mathematics. They raised four children: three boys and one girl. They also built their own business, managing 14 acres of beautifully manicured gardens that draw about 30,000 visitors each year to see the cherry blossoms and more in New Zealand’s capital city. But these next 10 years? According to Mark, “We’re going to be selfish.” He’s 62 years old. She’s 57. All the kids are grown. For the past few years, they’ve had a share in…

The boat Passing Wind has been called the life’s work of boatbuilder and designer Vic Carpenter. The 62-foot custom cruiser, entirely built of wood with a one-inch-thick deck constructed from three layers of laminated red cedar and mahogany, was launched in 1992. She has a beam of 15 feet, 6 inches and was recently listed on the used boat market. Built over a 6-year period, she was designed for Carpenter’s personal use. He sailed her on Lake Huron following her launch in 1992 and enjoyed the boat until 1999, when he was no longer able to use it. The boat made its way to Newport, Rhode Island, where it sat under wraps for about six years. A local discovered the vessel (with only its 90-foot spruce spar visible) and fell…

Countless boaters bring their dogs aboard to do everything from simply standing at the bow—nose eagerly pointed into the breeze and floppy ears flapping—to participating in water sports such as paddleboarding and kaya-king. Many dogs, mutts and purebreds alike, love boats and the water. Given the chance and the right training, they can safely and happily participate in everything from dinghy rides to water sports, enhancing their time on board with the family as well as the experience of the humans at the helm. Here are some things you can do to ensure the safety and comfort of your pet. The most important step is getting your dog safely on and off the boat, according to Mike Valtaro of BoatUS. “Give them something they’re confident with,” he says. Valtaro actually…

On any sunny summer weekend you’ll find groups of boaters beached, rafted up or anchored alongside sandbars. From Tice’s Shoals in New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay to Peanut Island in Florida’s Palm Beaches, and at hundreds of spots in between, the fascination with these impromptu public gatherings has created a subculture within the boating community. While you can hit the nearest sandbar with almost any boat, some are more suited to the pastime than others. That includes Pursuit’s recently launched DC 306. “We call it a sport utility boat because it was designed to do pretty much anything a family could want in a vessel of this size, and it has plenty of features that make it a standout for group outings,” says Mark Taiclet, Pursuit brand manager. This Swiss Army…

IT STARTED WITH A DAYDREAM: take my boat, SeaHag, a 1996 Rosborough RF246 LSV, to the southern shore of Newfoundland. I was only three years into boating, and my experience was limited to the region around my home port of Cape Vincent, New York, where Lake Ontario spills into the St. Lawrence River. The southern shore of Newfoundland is much different. It’s wild and remote. The region is dotted with tiny fishing outports, many of them abandoned since the cod fisheries have died. Better to visit them now, I thought, while they are still there. I also wanted to explore the many fjords along this craggy shoreline. There would be no services, so cruising would have to be a completely self-sufficient adventure. An opportunity came when my Rosborough Association friend,…

Trevor Brice founded North Pacific Yachts in 2003, and the company’s first boat—a 42-foot pilothouse called the NP42 and later renamed the NP43—was debuted in 2004. It was well-received and found a loyal fan base among committed cruisers. Ten years and 60 hulls later, the NP43 was replaced with a new model: the North Pacific 45 Pilothouse. The NP45 was designed new from the hull up. It was beamier than the NP43, had a longer waterline length, and showcased a new exterior look, among other improvements. “From the beginning, it was a popular boat for us, a well-found, long-range coastal trawler with a reputation for excellent craftsmanship, quality construction and comfort,” says Brice. “Today, the NP45 is still popular and we will continue to build it. However, we also want…

Sailing is not the first thing that comes to mind at the mention of the great theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, but like so many of us, the Nobel Prize winner had a passion for the water. At the age of 18, unable to swim, Einstein learned to sail on Lake Zurich in Switzerland, while simultaneously working on early papers that would eventually lead him to develop his theory of relativity. Einstein had little technical knowledge, yet he was passionate about sailing and appreciated the reflective time it provided. As a young man, the German-born physicist sailed primarily on instinct without any formal training. His landlady’s daughter Suzanne Markwalder served as crew and she remarked that whenever the wind died, Einstein would take out his notebook to write. “But as soon…

Eric Jay Dolin was flipping through an old book that included snippets about maritime stories. A tale from the early 19th century that involved a man named Charles Barnard caught his eye. The more Dolin learned, the more the story refused to let go of his imagination. Barnard was the captain of a New York-based ship that was hunting seals in the Falkland Islands. He discovered the survivors of a British ship that had wrecked, and agreed to rescue them—even though, the castaways were surprised to learn, their respective nations had gone to war. Despite the American’s humanitarian gesture during what became known as the War of 1812, a British warship arrived, and its commander seized the American ship. He declared the Americans prisoners of war and intentionally left…

I’ve beached a few boats in my time, some of them even on purpose (kidding). Beaching is typically the easy part; avoiding damage and unbeaching when it’s time to head back to the dock is another matter. There’s an art to it, whether you’re on an outboard-powered ski boat, a RIB tender or a PWC with a jet drive. When approaching the beach, power slowly forward while perpendicular to the shoreline. Coast in, bumping the engine in and out of gear if the shoreline is steep and you have room. Then put it in neutral, turn the engine off and tilt up the outdrive to minimize draft. When coming in, watch your depth finder and/or eyeball the bottom. Traditional wisdom says you should be in waist-deep water before someone jumps…

If you see a gaggle of boats anchored or rafted up around a sandbar or back bay beach, you’ll probably notice that many are center consoles. You might assume that’s because the center console is one of the most popular boat styles on the water today. But you should also consider that owners of these boats enjoy being out in the open air, whether they’re casting lines off the coast or pointing the bow toward the beach for some chill time. Among center consoles, there are few as luxuriously appointed as the new 357 LXF S-Class from Scout Boats of South Carolina. You can lounge on deck, dive off the swim platform or take a break from the sun in the air-conditioned cabin. “This new model, like all of…

It’s tough to make a list of the 10 saltiest sailors since Soundings started publishing 60 years ago. Our first list had dozens of possible candidates. Sailors like Lin and Larry Pardey had already been featured in previous anniversary issues, but to get it down to 10 sailors we had to make some tough choices. To ease our task, we threw in some additional salty souls in the list on page 66. We suspect you’ll think of someone we should have included. If so, drop us a line at editorial@soundingspub.com, and we’ll publish your most persuasive arguments in a future issue. SIR FRANCIS CHICHESTER When the 65-year-old British yachtsman Sir Francis Chichester sailed into Plymouth, England, aboard his 54-foot ketch Gipsy Moth IV in May 1967, he became the first…

An oyster tonger stands on the starboardside of his fishing boat and raises his tongs out of the water in the oil-on-canvas painting The Young Tonger by Nancy Tankersley. Bold strokes of blue are highlighted with light yellows and whites, proposing sparkling sunspots on the water. Red buckets for the harvested oysters sit in and on the outboard-powered boat. In the distance, larger boats work the water, the warm sun illuminating the entire scene and wrapping the tonger and his boat in a dreamy glow. Born and raised in the mid-Atlantic, Tankersley spent much of her youth on the bustling waterways of Annapolis, Maryland, exploring with family. Before she was a teen, it was evident that Tankersley had a knack for painting figurative portraits, so she honed her craft until…