This definitely denotes a trend. A curse even. Call it the Curse of Famous Circumnavigating Sailboats That Have Been Donated to Non-Profit Organizations. The latest victim, you may have noticed, is Laura Dekker’s bright red 40-foot Jeanneau Gin Fizz Guppy, which carried her around the world back in 2010-11 and helped her become the youngest sailor to circumnavigate the world alone. Laura has posted details on both her blog and one of her Facebook pages, so I’ll let her tell the story:

I loaned Guppy long term in full faith to a non-profit organization [Ed: LifeSail, based ...

Hi Virtual Voyagers!

It’s been a while since you’ve heard from the “wife” but I have a couple of big updates now the countdown to departure is looming.

Departure Information!

If you can make it you can join other Virtual Voyagers and wave Randall and Moli out under the Golden Gate Bridge.

When: Sunday, September 30th, 2018: 10am – 11am

Where: Travis Marina @ Cavallo Point, Sausalito CA

Logistics:

If you’re coming by car: There are lots of parking spaces in a lot just before the Marina. It’s a 5 min walk to the breakwater. Please note, due to safety ...

Old Ben E and new Ben S aboard M/V Gizmo in Hampton, Virginia, June 2018

Ben Ellison: Except for the possible name confusion, I’m very pleased to report that Ben Stein has become Panbo’s new Publisher while I get to focus entirely on the Edit side. As you may know, “new Ben” has been serving as a Contributing Editor since January, we walked the Miami Show together, and it was “Ben S” who spearheaded the Panbo website rebuild that went live in late March. We’ve been working together closely for eight months, and I know beyond a doubt ...

There are already a goodly number of southbound cruisers  in the Chesapeake Bay. With the  expected approach of Hurricane Florence, it  is time to start considering where to hide  if the storm comes into the Chesapeake.  We have lived on and cruised the Chesapeake for 30 years.  We’ve experienced many tropical storms and a few hurricanes.  With that experience here are some observations about Chesapeake hurricane holes. As a general observation, marinas and anchorages below the Rappahannock are  going to feel the full effects of a coastal storm.  Further up the Bay the winds may be somewhat mitigated going over ...

Many of you have asked about this, and I am happy to report my latest book has just been released in electronic format at both Amazon and at the iBooks store. Now you have no excuse for not reading it! (Also, it’s my birthday today, so you should feel obliged to propitiate me.)

Remember: John Kretschmer, one of the most popular bluewater authors of our generation, has called The Sea Is Not Full “ONE OF THE BEST SAILING BOOKS” he’s read in a long time. “More than that,” he continued, “it’s one of the best books I’ve read in a ...

For almost a year I hardly used this little control and monitoring panel because the attached EFOY fuel cell was already flawlessly performing its duty:  If engine alternator, solar panels, and/or shore power were not keeping Gizmo’s main battery bank at the voltage parameters I’d configured, the EFOY automatically and quietly charged the bank for a variable period also configured.

While the amp hours are expensive — the tested 210 model retails for $5,899, and the company’s methanol fuel costs roughly $10 per 100ah — I’m convinced that an EFOY Comfort could be a very pleasing addition to many cruising ...

Ah, the freedom of cruising! No commute, no schedule, no phone ringing… WAIT A MINUTE THERE. Phones? We gave our cell phones up when we took off in 2008 for a blue horizon. But the world changed and they crept back in a few years later, and are now indispensable travelers tools. Used as a hotspot, a smartphone is our primary vehicle for getting online aboard Totem. Apps connect us to helpful tools from mapping to translation and a myriad of other tools. Necessary to keep up Totem’s Instagram! Can you use what you have? Do you get a ...

Job one before embarking on this summer’s cruise was to clean up Lunacy’s bottom a bit. I waited until too late to ask if my home yard, Maine Yacht Center, could arrange to have a diver do it, so ended up having to do it myself. First I dove on the boat, on day one of the cruise at Cliff Island, and scrubbed a good bit of the starboard side, paying particular attention to the log and depth sensors, which were extremely foul. This, as I’d hoped, resolved both my autopilot problem (my modern NKE pilot needs more-or-less ...