Logbook
Stories, opinions, and other tales from the sea!
Sailing Through “Orca Alley”
Honestly, this part of our journey across the Atlantic and into the Mediterranean has been the most stressful. Perhaps mostly the chronic stress of anticipation leading up to this ~50NM stretch of water, inhabited by some very friendly Orca’s who have, in the last few years, found it quite fun to play with sailboats' rudders. Orcas are pretty big and powerful whales, relative to the insignificant underwater bits on our boats. This inevitably leads to severely damaged rudders…
First Impressions of the Balance 526 ‘Pippilotta’
We have been sailing Pippilotta for about a month…so what are our initial impressions?
Neel 45 vs the Neel 47
Being Neel 45 owners for quite a few years now, Amanda and I find ourselves having to explain our 45 model, defending against the latest generation of Neels, namely the 47 and 51 (now replaced by a 52). Generally the discussion revolves around performance…
Our Favorite Boats of the 2023 Annapolis Sailboat Show
There are certain boats we get quite excited to see at boat shows. If you know us, you probably can guess a few. But dive-in, and here our thoughts for our top 2023 Annapolis Sailboat show boats…
Our Top 5 Maine Anchorages
We have only been cruising the coastline for three seasons, two of those offering trips aboard our Neel 45 trimaran, and we feel as we have barely scratched the surface of the numerous amazing anchorages in Maine. But, there are always a few we keep going back to, so here they are!
5 Tips for sailing greenland
Thinking of cruising to Greenland? We have some top-tips from our summer sailing in the Southern coast!
How to optimize storage on a boat
Curious to learn a few tips about optimizing storage aboard?
Landfall in Bermuda
Learn why Bermuda is our favorite pitstop sailing across the Atlantic Ocean.
Sailing an Open 50
Want to hear about a first-hand Open 50 sailing experience? Darren and Amanda take a trip aboard Sparrow, a racing Open 50 piloted by Ronnie Simpson, and learn that Fast is Fun!
Installing a High Powered Alternator
Looking to install a high powered marine alternator? Read about our installation, experience, and long-term review of our Balmar 250XT marine alternator.
Monohull vs Trimaran
Monohull vs Trimaran: Which is better? There is a lot that goes into that question which I will help shed some incite into MY opinion from personal sailing experience.
Liveaboard Sailing Podcast
Looking for a very informative podcast on sailing and the Liveaboard Lifestyle? Check out this podcast and listen to our featured episodes!
A Year With Our Neel 45
A quick recap of sailing statistics for our first year with our Neel 45 trimaran…
Caribbean Multihull Challenge 2023
A debrief of our participation in the 2023 Caribbean Multihull Challenge in St. Martin
Passage Food Prep
Get a little ‘taste’ of how we manage food preparation for offshore sailing passages.
Downwind Sails on Panda ROSSO
Let’s talk about our downwind sail selection aboard Panda ROSSO…