The Case for Slow

Fast cruising boats are all the rage these days. Pod drives, planing hulls, powerful twin turbo diesels, and even giant supercharged outboards deliver copious quantities of cruising knots to boaters with deep pockets and a need to Get There Now. Modern cruisers don’t have time to wait around, apparently. They’ve got people to see and places to be – and if a few hundred horsepower can lop several hours off … Read more

Airship | More Winter Cruising and a Handful of Boat Projects

Last Monday we took delivery of our new dinghy. We bought an AB ALX 11 from Guyer Boatworks in Bellingham. Center console, aluminum hull, plenty of storage…all things we did not have on our old Zodiac that will certainly make this one heavier but way more comfortable. (This particular AB ALX 11 was actually a 2017 model that Guyer Boatworks had used in boat shows over the past two years, … Read more

Cruise Report: Transiting the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a crossroads of the maritime world. About 40 ships a day transit the canal, ranging from yachts to warships and everything in between. It’s a critical economic link between the West Coast and East Coast of the Americas, a monumental civil engineering project, an important political achievement, and a milestone for cruisers. The vast majority of circumnavigating yachts transit the canal, and hundreds of cruisers who … Read more

Slowboat at Trawlerfest

Tuesday, April 23 – Saturday, April 27, 2019 The Slowboat team will be presenting the following seminars at Trawlerfest 2019 in Seattle, WA. All seminars will be held onsite at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront. Seminar registration will be at the hotel. We hope to see you there!   Packing, Provisioning and Preparing Your Boat for the Inside Passage to Alaska Tuesday, April 23, 2019 8:30-10:30 a.m. $65 Before you embark … Read more

Airship | Winter Cruising in the San Juan Islands

Kevin and I had a handful of boat projects to take care of on Airship last week, but as soon as we finished the projects that required we be at a dock (and near the hardware store and West Marine) we took off for a few days of winter cruising in the islands. We are seriously enjoying the extra space and livability this Nordic Tug 42 has over our NT34. … Read more

Building a Weather Picture

One of the most important skills for successful cruising is understanding the weather and how it impacts your plans. This doesn’t mean being a meteorologist, making your own forecasts, or interpreting esoteric weather charts. Rather, it means selecting the right forecast from professional meteorologists (NOAA, Environment Canada, European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts), utilizing real-time weather data from the multitude of weather reporting sites along the coast, and adjusting cruise … Read more

Safe Harbour | Snowpocalypse at Blake Island

With Seattle in chaos and normal obligations cancelled because of snow in the forecast, we sought refuge on the water. What better place to spend the blizzard than Blake Island, we thought. So on Friday, after doing battle with every other Seattleite at the grocery store (50 minute line at Trader Joe’s!) we cast off. The locks, unlike the grocery store, were deserted—no waiting on a snow day! By mid-afternoon … Read more

Getting the Most from Windy.com

Windy.com is our single favorite weather resource for cruising the Pacific Northwest. We never ignore the official NOAA or Environment Canada marine forecasts, but Windy offers a much more granular look at the weather. Environment Canada and NOAA forecasts cover large areas over many hours with wind speeds expressed in big ranges (10 knots or more). Windy allows you to pan and zoom to the area you’ll be traveling, and to … Read more