running out of gas

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Photo by: Tom King

It's happened to you, I know it. It happened to me once in the most public of settings. I was returning to harbor after a day of chasing fish when my boat stopped dead in its tracks. I threw out the anchor and inspected the outboard, hoping for some obvious and easily fixed reason for its conking. I looked at the fuel gauge--half full. After checking several other things, I opened a hatch and looked at the plastic fuel tank below--bone dry. Only then did I realize I'd emptied her in the middle of a regatta.

An Inflatable Life Jacket For Every Season

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New York State has a mandatory life jacket law for all persons on boats under 21-feet, between November 1st and May 1st. When my dad recently asked a neighbor how much good a life jacket would do in frigid April waters, he received this half-joking reply, “It makes it easier to find the bodies.”

Taking to the water in cooler early-season is no joke. Cavalier about it? Read this first-person account on the effects of cold-water immersion:

Cool and Unusual: Studying Hypothermia

Smartboat 23

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At the docks, it looks like a miniature Wally Yacht. And, in fact, it did draw inspiration from the progressive, aggressive looking boats. But it’s more than that. It was designed by VPLP, the same group who built Larry Ellison’s trimaran that won the America’s Cup. It is the Smartboat 23, a European import with sailboat roots that will impress the most jaded of powerboaters.