Sailing in Stitches: An Account of a Two-year Circumnavigation

marine_prod-books-stitches-small

marine_prod-books-stitches-largeBy Dr. John Cocker

Stitches Explorer is a 74-foot yawl, built in 1966 with an extensive rebuild in 1992, and very well equipped, with two of all the important pieces of equipment. In 2000, with an international crew, she set off on a journey that would include 62 countries, 180 ports, two major pirate areas and one pirate boarding. Starting from Florida, she headed south, down the Caribbean, through the Panama Canal, across the Pacific to Australia, Indonesia and Thailand, then across the Indian Ocean, up the Read Sea and through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean, then to the Canary Islands and across the Atlantic to Antigua, where the circumnavigation was completed – a total of 64,000km in two years. Three of the crew were on board for the entire voyage, and they were joined by 60 diverse characters for shorter periods along the way. This book is the story of their adventure.

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Neptunus 650F Review

Neptunus 650F 400

By Andy Adams

Over the years Canadian Yachting has had the pleasure of doing several boat review articles on new Neptunus models and we are familiar with the qualities that Neptunus is famous for. They have all been exceptional yachts, but this is the one I would most want to own myself. It’s a personal choice and a matter of taste as to whether you would prefer to have a sedan express model or a flybridge but in my opinion, the flybridge layout offers some wonderful attributes.

We met with Neptunus Managing Director Jan Willem De Jong this past fall to take the new Neptunus 650F out in Lake Ontario. 

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Destinations

The Other Virgin Islands

Sunset off St John

By Mark Stevens

I was first seduced by the United States Virgin Islands during a ferry ride from St. Thomas to Tortola to begin one of our earliest British Virgin Islands charters nearly twenty years ago.

A perfect sunset off St. John with St. Thomas views for backdrop.

Clearing Pillsbury Sound, surrounded by voluptuous emerald mountains as the ferry sliced through royal blue waters, I was struck by the unspoiled ambiance of St. John, the island gliding past our starboard beam and the irresistible charm of a village called Cruz Bay visible from our quarter stern.

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Lifestyle