Author: john.hagen12

“We have a problem,” said Jeff. I had passed out on my bunk after finishing my shift at 1 a.m. when he awoke me. What now? I thought. The boat was gently rocking on the swells and the soft sound of slicing through the seas seemed to indicate the boat was moving well. I quickly Read More

The best shift on the deck of my sailboat is the 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. shift. Watching the sun come up and feeling the warmth on the skin with a gentle breeze is a special sensation after a night at sea. We were 350 miles north of Antigua. The winds were light, and we Read More

We left Bermuda with the next weather window. It was a beautiful day with the sun shining and a gentle breeze beckoning us out to sea. It was a different experience than the harrowing one coming in to St. George’s with all the flashing buoys confusing me and the high winds and raging ocean in Read More

Night was approaching…and it was only 4:30 p.m. The wind was 22 knots with gusts up to 26. It had picked up over the past hour. Too much sail was making it difficult top control the boat. We talked about reefing the main so we could sail without putting too much pressure on our struggling Read More

Today was the day. At 5 a.m. I was wide awake in the pitch blackness of the cabin. The silence permeating through the boat indicated no wind and calm conditions in the Salt Ponds Marina, in Hampton, Virginia where I had docked ILEANA for the past month. After much discussion among the Salty Dawg Sailors Read More

“A pocket of energy is in the Gulf of Mexico. The moisture and warm water temperature, along with the trough extending from Hispanola to the Bahamas will cause significant disturbance in the weather, possibly in the northeastern Caribbean.” The Exclamation Marks suggest possible lightning strikes along the sailing route south…… I listened intently before I Read More

The alarm went off at 5 a.m., jolting me awake from a deep sleep. Reluctantly, I crawled out of the warm bed and to the main salon. My brother Neil was already awake and firing up the Nespresso. Neil and I were savoring our first coffee of the morning, enjoying the warmth of the mug Read More

“Do you think we should give them a hand?” asked Neil. The image of me holding onto the bottom of the mast and tripping on the lifeline sending the mast to the bottom of the Hudson River flashed through my mind. “We’ll leave it to the professionals,” I replied. Scarano Boat works had attached the Read More

The clock struck 7 a.m., signaling the start of the day. With the combined efforts of Steve and Neil, the boat was carefully positioned in front of the crane, ready for the mast to be lifted. As we prepared our morning brew, the aroma from the Nespresso machine filled the boat. It was going to Read More

With the icy autumn wind rattling the rigging, the sailboat rocked back and forth. The eery noise created by the boat prevented any conversation in the cockpit of the 51-foot sailboat. The boat forged ahead, battling against the strong eastward wind and crashing waves. Under the cover of dark clouds, the night was pitch-black, with Read More