Passagemaker

Passagemaker was created out of a shared passion for long-distance sailing, aiming to inform, educate, and inspire trawler and long-range cruising fans around the globe. It is a versatile brand that includes a print magazine with 18,000 subscribers, an extensive website, a daily newsletter, an active presence on social media, and the podcast "Trawler Talk."

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English

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#669406

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Articles

Why Boat Handling Skills Require Ongoing Training

1 week ago | passagemaker.com | Bob Arrington

Let’s talk about the foundation of skilled boat handling. I will begin, of course, with field-goal kickers in the National Football League. No, I haven’t gone off the deep end. Stay with me. In the 1990 NFL season, the chances of a kicker making a field goal from 50 yards was about 35 percent. Compare that to today, when kickers have improved their success rate to nearly 75 percent. That’s a staggering improvement in a sport where games are often decided by three points or less. What changed?
Boat Review: North Pacific 590 Skylounge

2 weeks ago | passagemaker.com | Jeff Moser

Tendrils of fog swirled above Lopez Sound like serpent tails, pushed hither and yon by the wind that, at 8 a.m., was already gusting to 20 knots. I sat transfixed by the stark contrast of colors on display in the Rosario Strait—the expanse of evergreens on the surrounding islands ran right to the steep, rocky shores that disappeared into midnight blue waters dotted with whitecaps.
Fuel Management for Long-Range Cruising Success

1 month ago | passagemaker.com | Bob Arrington

The forecast was perfect. A high-pressure system was going to remain stationary just north of the Greater Antilles for the next 48 hours, giving us ample time to make the 500-mile run from St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands to Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands. My friends Josh and Caitlin had looked forward to this trip for months. After purchasing their 45-foot Symbol trawler in St. Thomas, they were finally ready to bring it back to their home in North Carolina.
When Crews Fail Well-Found Boats

1 month ago | passagemaker.com | Chris Caswell

There has been a rash of cruising yachts being abandoned not because they had lost their steerage, were actively sinking or were on fire, but because the crew just wasn’t happy. Most had been dealing with weather conditions for which they were totally unprepared. Take the 53-footer that was CE Category A Ocean-rated, which is the toughest category for yachts, capable of seas up to 23 feet and winds of 41 to 47 knots. The inexperienced crew had been dealing with winds of 40 knots and 10-foot seas.
Fleming 85 Enclosed Bridge Review

1 month ago | passagemaker.com | Daniel Harding

For Tim and Lisa Armand, building their dream yacht—a Fleming 85—is all about creating memories with family and friends. Tim Armand made one thing crystal clear as we cruised aboard his new Fleming 85 Enclosed Bridge off Greenport, New York: St. Somewhere is his ultimate boat, but not necessarily his last. “Never say final,” he says with a chuckle. His boating background makes that much evident.
A 3-Year DIY Downeast Boat Rebuild Story

1 month ago | passagemaker.com | Kim Kavin

Lauren Tolla was having trouble processing what she was seeing. And feeling. And smelling. It was October 2021, and her husband, Tom, had persuaded her to go check out a boat that he had seen advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace. They’d driven from their home in Guilford, Connecticut, up to New London, where it had rained the day before. The name of the 1984 Nauset 35 Downeast was Seahorse. Clearly, it had been ridden hard and put away wet.
Nordhavn 80 Yacht Review

Mar 17, 2025 | passagemaker.com | Kim Kavin

Inside StoryLady Di is Hull No. 3 of the Nordhavn 80, and the first one with a highly personalized interior by Vripack. Mike Kugler stood outside the headquarters of the Vripack design firm in the Netherlands, looking up at the American flag. It was flying in honor of the visit he was making that day alongside his mother, who was nearly 90 years old at the time. They had sure come a long way from the town of 8,000 people in southwest Nebraska.
Cruising By All Means

Mar 7, 2025 | passagemaker.com | Jeff Moser

A few years back, four college friends made a plan for an epic adventure following graduation. And they actually went through with it. Borrowing a family boat, a North Pacific 28, the four women—Erin Beaudoin, Emery Hansell, Uhane Johnson and Annie Means—spent over two months on a cruise up the Inside Passage of British Columbia, inspired by the century-old adventures of trailblazer Muriel Blanchet.
Dash of Salt: Dawn Watch

Feb 24, 2025 | passagemaker.com | Chris Caswell

I admit it: I’m just not a morning guy. My family will readily back me up on this. I’ll snuggle back under the covers for the faintest of excuses: a rainy morning, a sunny morning and especially those days when the paperboy (yes, I still read a printed newspaper) manages to hit near the front porch so I can read in bed. As I said, it doesn’t take much. But there’s one type of morning I always enjoy, and it seems to embody much of what I love about cruising: the dawn watch.
How to Navigate Safely in Fog

Jan 27, 2025 | passagemaker.com | Bob Arrington

When my wife, Dori, and I decided to cruise south in the winter and north in the summer, we didn’t consider the increased number of days we would be boating in fog. Our summer months are now spent aboard our trawler, Liberdade, in New England, so we have learned to live with, and possibly even enjoy, a cool, foggy morning. We also can acknowledge that knowing we would be boating more in fog wouldn’t have caused us to change our plans, because in many ways, it has made us better boaters.