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Washington

Goodbye, Evergreen State; You Will Be Missed (Blog)

I said goodbye to an old friend recently, a friend I’ve known for 60 years. I watched from the damp, sandy shore of Ship Harbor in Anacortes as Evergreen State–a Washington state ferry–moved slowly toward her terminal.

The Boat Guy: The Real Tacoma, Washington (BLOG)

Frankly, those of us that don’t live near Tacoma formulate our “view” of the area by what we see when we drive past on I-5. Well, I can tell you first hand that we “Northerners” are horribly misinformed.

The Wild Wind On The Pacific

The last few days before a passage are such a high! With energy and emotions running wild, bursting with anticipation, my mind exults at the

A Trip Up The Pacific Coast: Part 1

For many who cruise the West Coast, the lure of sun and tranquility in Mexico and points south is very compelling. Others, including me, are drawn to the Pacific Northwest and the overwhelming beauty of Puget Sound, the San Juan and Gulf Islands, British Columbia, and Southeast Alaska. But in between lies another appealing cruising ground—the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. Heading north up this 1,300nm route can be challenging; you are nose to the weather all the way, and the dynamics of sea and weather conditions increase with latitude.

Replace, Refurbish, Or Retire?

With boating involvement stretching back to the early 1950s, I’ve reached a point when I often ponder how much longer I’ll be able to enjoy

Absolute 70 Fly

Absolute 70 Fly Reviewed

Twin 1,000-hp Volvo Penta D13s and 285 nautical miles of range give the new Absolute 70 Fly the room and speed to roam.

Twin delivery captains Assen and Nikolay Alexandrov standing on the bow deck of a motor yacht docked alongside a pier.

The Twins

After more than 500,000 nautical miles as yacht delivery captains, Assen and Nikolay Alexandrov are still bringing boats home.

Alt Text: A close-up view of two polished stainless-steel windlasses and anchor gypsies mounted on the white foredeck of a yacht under a partly cloudy sky.

Anchors Aweigh

Windlass and ground tackle maintenance can make all the difference in an emergency.

A Garmin marine chartplotter display screen showing a digital nautical map with AIS vessel tracking, route waypoints, and navigation data overlay.

Understanding AIS

Good seamanship means using every available tool, but never relying on any one alone.

Three side-by-side screenshots from the Navionics app showing nautical charts of Hell Gate and Wards Island, contrasting a correct manually plotted water route on the left with two flawed AI-generated routes on the middle and right that erroneously plot course lines directly across land.

A Suspicious Plot

I used AI to chart a course through a notorious waterway. The results were unusable.

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