North American Sailor :: Online Resource & Entertainment

I want to share a relatively new online sailing publication called North American Sailor, which, as they say, is intended for the "nautically obsessed". Essentially it's a daily stream of the latest sailing news drawn from all over the Web. 

What sets NA Sailor apart from the competition is their presentation style and use of further defined categories; cruising, racing, boats, gear, maintenance and technique. They offer it all--from maintenance tips to racing results--yet with one extra click I can narrow my focus. The NA Sailor team has given careful consideration to the needs of all types of sailors.

 

Harvest Moon 2010

Unfortunately my Canon Elph camera is not doing justice to my view of tonight's stunning harvest moon.

Newport International Boat Show

Threatening skies on Friday at the fall annual Newport Boat Show, September 16-19.

Earl Who?

It was a surprisingly calm night in Wickford Harbor where Earl’s presence was only felt with a couple of 20kt gusts despite its tropical storm status.

Our next weather system, a cold front, arrived on the tail of over-hyped Earl and is proving to have more wind. By daylight the cold front wind was staying in the 20+ knots range, with gusts in the 30's. A great sailing day, if we had sails on the boat…

Earl's Approach

I’ve been waking up early everyday this week to the sounds of a working travel lift. The noise has continued well into the evening before the tired marina crew finally says enough for one day.  That is until today. By noon today an eerie quiet and grey sky blanketed the harbor. We are only a few hours from meeting the wrath of Hurricane Earl, which has hospitably gone from a category 4 to a 1 in less than 24-hours.

Preparing for Earl

Our hurricane strategy has always been to run. Run to a hurricane hole in Maine. But then Earl came along and has kept the experts guessing with disagreeing computer weather models and us reluctant to move from our sheltered mooring in Wickford Cove. 

The boat traffic into our marina is proof that many boats are opting to get lifted. My captain is forecasting Earl will barely clip Nantucket, plus we feel safer and more in control afloat (verses on stands on land) so as the storm moves closer we have decided to stay. We have removed all canvas from Eve’s deck, turned her around so she will face into Earl's wind, attached extra spring lines to our mooring poles (our "mooring" is between two poles, 60-feet apart), and if needed will drop an anchor.