By Ralph B. Pears My hapless cruising companion of many years, affectionately known as “Captain Bumblebee” because of his fondness for a yellow and black rugby shirt, was someone who was always prepared to lend a helping hand. You could always depend on him to assist with a shipboard repairRead More

Beneath the mirrored surface of the sea, a quiet drama unfolds as water temperatures and habitat health are altered by progress and the passage of time. But is all the news bad? Not by a long shot.

In the 2015 film “The Martian,” Matt Damon is an astronaut who’s unwittingly left behind on Mars, and realizes that if he’s to be rescued – most likely in four years, when another ship will be close enough to do so – he’s got to survive on a planet thatRead More

By Christopher Birch Outdoor showers for the N.E. sailorSeveral years ago, on New Year’s Eve, I made a resolution: For the 12 months ahead, I would never shower without a beer. There’s something about the yin and yang of hot water and cold beer that just works. I like drinkingRead More

By Jack Farrell The usual spring activity along our coast has been slow to develop this season due to the pandemic. But in early May, Maine Governor Janet Mills announced a phased re-opening plan for business in the state. In addition to some other enterprises, barbershops and marinas will be allowedRead More

By David Roper In these times of COVID-19, statistics show that many people are virtually escaping to paradise via YouTube. If you Google “Sail to Paradise,” you’ll get 40,300,000 hits. As of today, there are 1,300,000,000 YouTube videos out there, movies from every imaginable category. So, if you can’t actuallyRead More

By Marilyn Pond Brigham From 2005 to 2009, I was a Waterlily. Waterlilies are members of the mostly over-40 ladies sailing program at Quissett Yacht Club (QYC) in Falmouth, Mass. The Waterlilies program meets on Friday mornings, July through August, and has done so since 1959. I first wrote aboutRead More

It is . . . and you’re the winner! Is that Northeast Harbor, on Mt. Desert Island, in Maine? My wife Julie and I have often sailed Preamble, our Island Packet 37, down that way and spent many nights on harbor floats over the past 20-odd years. It is aRead More

We have a thing for islands. Since early 2019, we’d sailed to over 20 of them, from French Polynesia to our favorite, Block Island, R.I. And on this cruise, we found more of them in our own backyard.

Wickford, R.I. Philip Rendle Dyer set off on his final journey on May 14, 2020 at age 62. Upon completion of treatment for pancreatic cancer at Dana-Farber, he was cared for in his home by his family and friends, with assistance from Hope Hospice of Rhode Island. Philip was bornRead More