American Sailing Journal

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Legendary cruising sailor Lin Pardey talks about engineless cruising, big adventure, how times have changed and… love.

If you have ever done any serious cruising or thought about doing some, Lin and Larry Pardey have probably popped up on your radar. Through the decades they have logged over 200,000 nautical miles, including two circumnavigations east to west and west to east, mostly on boats under 30-feet. Along the way they have written dozens of magazine articles, 11 books and produced five informational videos. They have won a variety of awards and still hold the record for the smallest boat to have circumnavigated contrary to the prevailing winds around all the great southern capes.

// Bite Sized Lesson : Hypothermia

This video shows some of the do’s and don’ts when it comes to hypothermia. Prolonged exposure to wind, spray, & cold when on deck, and any length of time spent in the water, can elevate your chances of becoming hypothermic. Recognizing the early symptoms & taking appropriate actions can prevent a life-threatening situation.

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Docking Under Sail : The Downwind Approach //

A good sailor must know how to dock his/her boat in all types of conditions. Although docking under sail in a downwind scenario isn’t desirable and should be avoided, there are situations that mandate such a skill. This video demonstrates the correct steps and methods to adhere to as you steer the boat into a downwind slip.

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A Former ASA Student Prepares to Sail Solo, Non-Stop, Unassisted Around the Planet With 1960s Technology

Not everyone gets to experience a full dose of inspiration quite like Carl Huber who will soon be sailing around the world alone, non-stop and unassisted in the Golden Globe Ocean Race in July 2018. The soft-spoken father of five was nearly fifty when he learned to sail but interestingly and unlike most, he was inspired to sail even before he ever stepped on a sailboat. He knew, almost instinctively, sailing was his calling. “I had been wanting to sail for a long time and had been talking about sailing on and off since my late teens. Then, in my early forties I had been talking about it some more.” Huber said. “The time was going by pretty quickly. I hadn’t done a lot of things I thought I would do by that age”.

BONUS: Listen to Carl Huber’s entire interview >>

Ah, the Local Notice to Mariners... Most of us know about it, but many of us don’t really check it out and still others have never even heard of it. For the latter group, the Local Notice to Mariners is a document that gets regularly published by the U.S. Coast Guard (weekly), letting us know about stuff that gets changed on the charts (“discrepancies”), advanced notice of things that are going to be coming down the pike and it also brings us up to speed on situations that are happening in our local waters.