Unlikely Boat Builder: Plan 'B'

[John Almberg]

In the end, getting down Delaware Bay was a matter of picking the right weather.

That's a phrase you read a lot in cruising guides: "Pick the right weather to cross ______". Fill in your favorite nasty stretch of open water.

But picking the right weather isn't so easy...

Complete blog post: Home Stretch

Fair winds: John

[John Almberg]

E.F. Knight's "Sailing" is one of my favorite sailing books. It's the book that John Walker consulted when, as a young lad, he had to sail the Goblin across the North Sea to Holland in a gale (in "We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea"), and it's probably the book Arthur Ransome learned to sail with.

Knight says the science of sailing is "practically infinite", and I agree -- particularly when it comes to weather. After many months of studying weather forecasts, and comparing them with the weather that actually showed up, all I can do is quote the ancient weather proverb: "Believe it when you see it."

Oh, and "Take it with a grain of salt."

Complete blog post: Going For It

Fair Winds: John

[John Almberg]

At last! The final segment of "Cabin Boy's Big Adventure". Don't miss it!

When you reach the southern end of Governor's Island, you have a choice of either the main channel to the west, or the Buttermilk Channel to the east. I chose the Buttermilk because it took me out of the main traffic and seemed a bit more protected from the northerly breeze.

Governor's Island got it's name when New York was a British colony. The island, being just a mile south of Manhattan, and close to the anchorage for the British fleet, was reserved for the use of the royal governor.

Even back then it was location, location, location...

Read complete blog post: East River Adventure

Fair tides: John