One day before this magazine was sent to press, Seattle sailor David Linger crossed the finish line of the Global Solo Challenge in A Coruña, Spain, completing a solo sailing race around the world. I don’t know David well, but he was described to me by a friend as “one of the most competent sailors I’ve ever sailed with.” This page offers neither the format nor the space to appropriately honor David or his incredible accomplishment (we will be working on that in the near future). Still, David’s now-finished adventure illuminated some thoughts on a sailing truism: even in this age of connectivi ..read more

With race season heating up, the crew at Tacoma Yacht Club are bringing in expert-level help to maximize your speed off the breeze. Savvy racers can often suggest that there are a couple of avenues to improving your results on the race course—you can spend oodles of boat bucks on new sails and equipment refinements, or you can spend considerably less on coaching that helps you sail in the right direction with better speed. This is an excellent small-bite of option two! If you are looking to improve your downwind sail trim and sail faster, NorthU’s seminar on Thursday, May 16, at the Tacoma Yac ..read more

It was an amazing day to be out sailing on Puget Sound for the annual Carol Pearl Blakely Rock Benefit Race on April 13! The wind was a steady 10 to 14 knots from the north, which determined the course would bring the fleet of 71 boats from Shilshole Bay north to Meadow Point, southwest across Puget Sound to Blakely Rock, and back to Shilshole. Overall winner Dark Star charging through the fleet on the run to Blakely Rock. The J/105 class had nine boats on the line: Avalanche, Corvo, El Gato, Insubordination, Moonglow, Moose Unknown, Panic, Peer Gynt, and Puff. We had an all-clear start with t ..read more

48° North is seeking to add a terrific person to our small team as the Advertising Sales Rep and Customer Care Captain! Love boats, the boat life, and the communities of people who are also passionate about those things? Want to spend your days talking/thinking/growing/serving/living boats and the industry of wonderful humans and businesses in the Pacific Northwest that make it all possible? Come work with us! 48° North is a small team that operates as a department of the non-profit Northwest Maritime Center. In this non-profit era and throughout the magazine’s 40-plus year history, 48° North ..read more

Ah, the dawn of the high cruising season around the Salish Sea. It’s always an exciting time to make plans for where you’ll travel and what you might explore when you get there, and also a great chance to start getting out there! For us, finding and enjoying lovely boat-accessed hikes sits near the top on the list of priorities, and our experiences with that pursuit are what this column seeks to illuminate. Before pointing the bow farther afield when you’ve got maximum daylight and more consistently pleasant weather, many cruisers take advantage of springtime to embark on a few shorter trips i ..read more

We are devotees of Washington’s waters and shorelines and active users/appreciators of the State Parks, and thus are excited to share a cool opportunity for this weekend! As a proud member of the Washington Clean Coast Alliance, the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission will co-host the annual Washington Coast Cleanup on April 20.  This year’s event will take place at 10 state parks: Cape Disappointment, Fort Flagler, Fort Townsend, Fort Worden, Grayland Beach, Mystery Bay, Ocean City, Pacific Beach, Shine Tidelands, and Twin Harbors ..read more

In our latest My Boat column, we’d like to introduce you to Casey Wilkinson and his sweet looking Didi 23, Koru. After searching for several years for a sailboat that he could use with his family, Casey decided to build the boat by himself from a set of plans, starting in May of 2020 and launching in October of 2022. He wanted something that had enough room to sleep four, had a separate enclosed head, decent headroom, and could be trailered and launched easily. With its raising keel, the Didi 23 design ticked those boxes beautifully, and can fit on a low trailer and be launched at almost any r ..read more

Well known around the Pacific Northwest, the 160-foot Schooner Zodiac will celebrate its 100th birthday at an Open House on Sunday, May 19th, at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal in Fairhaven from 11 a.m – 4 p.m. The ship operates from March to October with varied trips from student groups to themed trips into the San Juan Islands to 3-hour sails on Bellingham Bay. Celebrating a 100th birthday is a remarkable feat for a wooden vessel, and some special events have been planned to commemorate the event. Displays highlighting Zodiac’s history and the ship itself will be open for deck tours ..read more

» Weems & Plath BRIGHTWind Knowing that real estate is limited on the top of the mast, Weems & Plath set out to create the world’s first ultrasonic wind sensor/LED triColor/LED anchor light combination—and they did it! Aptly named, BRIGHTWind, this unique, state-of-the-art pairing combines the ultra-low-powered, non-mechanical wind sensor (created by Spanish manufacturer, Calypso Instruments) with Weems & Plath’s powerful, yet energy efficient, LX TriColor/Anchor LED Navigation Light with Strobe and Photodiode. This combination was designed exclusively for sailors seeking unparalle ..read more

In our latest Throwback Thursday, we jump back to the March 2018 “Learn to Sail” issue of 48° North with some timeless tips on choosing a sailing school by Stu Gilfillen. The famed author John Rousmarine once wrote, “The idea of sailing a boat upon the sea can seduce even the happiest farmer or mountain climber.” While the folks at FarmersOnly.com don’t seem to have jumped on the sailing bandwagon yet, I would agree with John that sailing is a sport with broad appeal that is accessible to everyone. However, distinguishing between types of sailing or various educational opportunities can somet ..read more