In late April, a group of seasoned sailors, all having completed ASA104: Basic Coastal Cruising, embarked on a multi-day excursion teaching advanced offshore sailing techniques. In association with Sail Monterey, this was Shearwater Sailing’s ASA106: Advanced Coastal Cruising, and we were joined by veteran American Sailing Association instructor Blaine McClish. Evening departure from Monterey Blaine surveys the scene The forecast called for northerlies for several days, abating somewhat at night, so we made the decision to leave immediately Thursday evening to make our way north toward San F ..read more

Greater than 200lbs. Less than 75lbs. That is the difference between a 1988 designed rudder made of fiberglass, wood and stainless steel, and a 2024 designed rudder made of closed cell foam and resin pre-impregnated carbon fiber. The stark contrast in weight is indicative of the improvement in all aspects of the new foil. Here is how it happened. Original rudder looked ok on the surface For those of you who followed Atalanta’s major refit in 2020-2021, you will recall that the rudder bearing was completely frozen and had to be replaced. I won’t go back into those details, but this is what we ..read more

Shearwater Sailing is pleased to announce a new course offering from the American Sailing Association in our offshore sailing repertoire - ASA 106: Advanced Coastal Cruising. The first edition of this blue water training class will occur May 2-5, 2024. Heading offshore Coastal navigation In partnership with Sail Monterey, Shearwater now provides the ability for intermediate sailors to hone their skills and earn their ASA 106 certificate. Completing this course is a critical component of becoming a competent offshore sailor and demonstrates the confidence and ability needed to sail or bareboa ..read more

Last weekend, a window of good winter weather allowed Atalanta and crew to make the trip from Monterey to San Francisco and back in two days, with a short overnight in Sausalito. Our goal was to take full advantage of the good conditions and experience sailing the Central Coast in a compact period of time. Ready for an early morning departure Leaving the Monterey Harbor entrance as the sun came up Our intrepid crew joined the boat in Monterey and we were out on Monterey Bay in time to catch the morning easterly, which allowed us to sail most of the way to Santa Cruz. Pointed north just as t ..read more

Calm conditions required a good deal of motoring and provided gorgeous views for our group as we sailed from Monterey to San Francisco and back last weekend. Plenty of antics as we head out onto the Bay Our group of 8 left the dock at 0658 to a beautiful sunrise and a perfect easterly breeze as we headed the bow toward Santa Cruz. The sun warmed us up as it peeked above the mountains on the far side of Salinas, and we close reached under full sail with dolphins, porpoises, sea lions, a variety of sea birds, and whales. Spectacular sunrise over Monterey Bay As the air warmed and the easterly ..read more

New offering from Shearwater Sailing! We are excited to announce an all new addition to the calendar for early 2024. Offshore sunset Join Atalanta for 3 days and 2 nights offshore over President’s Day Weekend, February 17-19, 2024. We will depart Monterey with no pre-planned destination, rather basing our itinerary on the current weather conditions and forecast. Big, safe, and offshore capable February on the Central Coast can offer a wide variety of conditions, from calms to gales. We will start with a safety-first attitude, reefing and deploying a variety of sails and equipment to meet wha ..read more

When cruisers and popular sailing YouTubers Marissa and Chris Neely of S/V Avocet came to Monterey, we sat down for a conversation about Shearwater’s origin, our offerings, and our plans for the future. Here is an excerpt from their YouTube episode on their visit. The Neelys produce wonderful vlogs, videos and other cruising content and have published in a wide variety of sailing publications. Give them a follow on YouTube @sailingavocet, IG @svavocet, and on their website. Atalanta and Avocet together in Monterey Marissa and Chris on board their beautifully restored 1979 Cheoy Lee 41 SV Av ..read more

After 9 months of steady progress, we work towards a successful launch with a flurry of last minute jobs to complete. Moving to our next big task, we found that several components of the steering system including the rudder and rudder bearing were suspect, so we opted to drop the rudder out of the boat while hauled out at KKMI in Richmond. Rudders are a source of worry and occasional grief on long passages, and again it was fortunate we did this because we discovered that the bearing was badly corroded and needed replacement before the boat could safely be sailed. This turned into an epic batt ..read more

When we left off, we had accomplished a variety of big jobs as part of Atalanta’s major refit. Now, it was time to remove the mast from the boat for paint and service. Read on! Prepping the mast: 9” bulkheads require long bolts Gilles and the team at Svendsen’s Bay Marine made quick work of removing the 75’ tall mast When we started lifting the mast out, it nearly overloaded the 1,500lb crane, weighing in without the boom at a healthy 1,470lbs. Fortunately, the crew was very experienced and the exercise went off without a hitch. Svendsen’s Bay Marine then blasted off all the paint and filler ..read more

Among the wind-swept cypress trees and sprawling golf courses of the Monterey Peninsula, where classic and exotic car enthusiasts gather each year for the famed Concours d’Elegance, it is often said that there is nothing more expensive than a cheap Ferrari. When my boat partner Chuck and I upgraded from our Santana 35 and bought Atalanta, a custom 1988 New Zealand-built Farr 53 in the summer of 2020, although she looked beautiful, we knew we were in for a project. The first day I saw her, she was sitting somewhat forlornly in her slip, but I instantly recognized the potential I had spent the ..read more