On a small fresh-water pond near Cape Cod, professional mariners learn how to pilot some of the biggest ocean-going commercial ships in the world. This story in the October 2025 issue of WorkBoat magazine tells a little-know story about maritime training.
Posted in Cape Cod, Commercial Shipping, Uncategorized
The Melonseed skiff is simultaneously a very old and wonderfully new craft: A 13-1/2 ft. cat-rigged skiff, designed almost 150 years ago, indigenous to the U.S. East Coast. It’s surprisingly stable in strong winds for a small boat and has fiercely loyal owners. This article in the June 2025 Classic Boat magazine looks at the master boat wright who saved this little craft from oblivion and why it’s such a special vessel.
Posted in Boats, Melonseed skiff, Roger Crawford, sailing, Uncategorized
Tagged Roger Crawford, sailboats, sailing, skiffs
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Posted in Boats, British Virgin Islands, BVI, BVIs, Cruising, Jost Van Dyke, sailing, U.S. Virgin Islands, Virgin Gorda, Virgin Islands
Tagged Anegada, Bermuda, Biras Creek, Block Island, BVI, Cruising, Jost Van Dyke, sailing, St. John's, USVI, Virgin Gorda
Rogue containers—shipping containers washed overboard at sea and semi-submerged—are a life-threatening disaster for any small boat that might run into them. This was vividly portrayed in the Robert Redford movie All is Lost. This article in the September 2024 issue of Workboat magazine takes a look at just how many are lost in a given year, the lack of regulation to stop the problem, and the threat they pose to sailors at sea.
Posted in Boats, sailing, Uncategorized
Tagged boating safety, Boats, collisions at sea, containers, sinkings
This six-page article gives a condensed but information-packed guide to boating the entire Chesapeake Bay, broken down by how the fish and crabs and oysters see it: Its three salinity zones. As the largest estuary in the United States, there’s a lot to see in the Chesapeake. This was published in the September/October 2024 issue of BoatU.S. magazine.
Posted in Boats, Chesapeake Bay, Cruising
Tagged chesapeake, Chesapeake Bay, history, Maryland, travel
The seven-mile waterway between Cape Cod Bay and Buzzards Bay avoids a dangerous passage around the Outer Cape, but comes with its own challenges. This article in the September/October issue of BoatUS Magazine explores how it was built, what it’s like, and how to navigate it safely. A separate article about the history of the Cape Cod Canal is online here.
Posted in Boats, Cape Cod Canal, Cruising, sailing
Crowds are coming back to the islands, so for a quiet experience, cruise in the shoulder seasons. Why its better then, why it’s different (and what to look out for) and where to go: This article was published by Soundings magazine in January 2023.
Posted in Anegada, BVIs, Foxy's, Jost Van Dyke, Norman Island, The Baths, Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Willie T
The legendary Eastern European cruising grounds, rich in history, beauty, conflict and culture. This article in the November/December 2022 issue of BoatUS magazine describes what it’s like, where to go, what to know.
Between New York City to the west and the open Atlantic to the east lies one of the best cruising grounds in the United States: Eastern Long Island Sound. This article in the September-October 2022 issue of BoatUS Magazine explores how to get there and what to see.
Posted in Uncategorized
Maine’s Penobscot Bay is one of the most beautiful, delicious, sometimes difficult, and rewarding cruising grounds in the world. This article in the February/March 2021 issue of BoatUS Magazine explains where and how to sail there.
Posted in Acadia National Park, Camden, Cruising, Eggemoggin Reach, Lobsters, Maine, Mount Desert Island, Penobscot Bay, Rockport, sailing
Tagged Cruising, Maine; Penobscot Bay, sailing
Stephen Blakely is a writer and editor on Cape Cod.
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