Adventures

November 2025

The Crossing

Wind and tide wait for no man in the Strait of Juan de Fuca

When Colin Schehl left Port Townsend, Washington, at the beginning of his month-long cruise through the San Juan and Gulf islands, he had no idea that the first 36 hours of the voyage would test him and his boat to their limits.

October 2025

From Hope Cove to the Helford River

Dinghy-cruising off England’s southwest coast

When someone gave him an old 11′ Heron dinghy, Alex Latham knew the time had come to learn to sail. Two years and two more boats later, he embarked on his first overnight solo voyage off the south coast of Devon and Cornwall.

September 2025

A Shakedown Cruise in Tampa Bay

Sailing a new homebuilt Angus RowCruiser in Florida

When Bill Hutton set sail in his new homebuilt Angus RowCruiser, he hoped to explore Tampa Bay from east to west. The breaking of his centerboard made upwind sailing impossible, so instead he kept to the eastern shore and explored under sail and oar.

August 2025

Rowing the SEVENTY48

One boat, four oars, seventy miles

In 2019, when Basin Herbertson first heard about the SEVENTY48, he didn’t know how to row, nor did he have a boat in which to learn. He designed and built a performance boat for the event, and in June 2025 he and his son, Ben, completed the 70-mile race.

July 2025

A Civilized Adventure

Kayaking through Burgundy and Nivernais in the 1980s

Lured by the gentle countryside, the expectation of easy camping, and the promise of good French food and wine, a young New England couple explore the waterways of Burgundy in a 17′ Klepper Aerius II kayak.

June 2025

Paddling the Susquehanna River

A two-and-a-half week trip by canoe

Hugh Rand takes two and a half weeks to paddle his canoe from Cooperstown, New York, to Chesapeake Bay, Maryland. Along the way he encounters otters, beavers, and bears; submerged boulders, fallen trees, and fast-running rapids.

May 2025

Three Days in the Broughton Archipelago

A singlehanded adventure from Vancouver Island

Merlin Clark-Mahoney had looked forward to spending a couple of weeks sailing off the coast of Vancouver Island. But almost constant heavy rain caused him to lower his expectations and change his itinerary. He took off on a three-day voyage that included close encounters with whales and miles-long tacks on which his 18′ yawl sailed herself.

April 2025

The Bagaduce River by Rowboat

A four-day rowing trip through the strong currents of a Maine river

Davis Taylor had enjoyed occasional overnights on local ponds when he decided he really wanted to explore tidal Maine. He successfully navigated the fast-running Bagaduce River to enjoy a four-day island-hopping voyage under oars.

March 2025

The BETTY Effect

A retired couple discover the joys of river cruising under oar

Newly retired Chris Price built the Iain Oughtred Tammie Norrie which he and his wife, Jacqui, have since rowed hundreds of miles in coastal waters, lakes, and three of England’s biggest rivers.

February 2025

Sailing on Lake Roosevelt

A two-day end-of-season adventure

Returning to a favorite haunt in Washington State, a single-handed sailor enjoys a fall weekend of cruising and camping but is challenged by high winds and flat calms.

January 2025

SCHERZO Does the Skookumchuck

A four-day adventure in Sechelt Inlet, British Columbia

Three friends explore Sechelt Inlet in a 14′ Pacific power dory and twice navigate Skookumchuck Narrows in the slack water between its fast-running tidal rapids.

December 2024

A Sacramento River Adventure

A father and son head downstream for an overnight voyage

A father and his 7-year-old son set sail downriver on the Sacramento for an overnight adventure in their home-built 18′ Vivier Seil.

November 2024

The Sea of the Sámi People

Sailing the Arctic waters of Lake Inari

A father and daughter take their Ness Yawl north of the Arctic Circle for a four-day high-wind cruise through the islands of Lake Inari in Finland.

October 2024

A Solar-Powered Cruise on Lake Nipigon

A two-week cold-water cruise through the islands

Two friends set out in a Whitehall-style open boat for a 15-day, early-season island-hopping cruise on the chilly waters of Ontario’s Lake Nipigon.

September 2024

A Sail-and-Oar Cruise in the San Juans   

Two days away in a Haven 12 1⁄2

A fair forecast provided the ideal opportunity for an early-season shakedown cruise in a Haven 12 1⁄2 through the northern chain of the San Juan Islands.

August 2024

Return to the Texas 200

In 2017, Roger Siebert took part in his first Texas 200 and completed the challenging 200-mile course. While he returned in 2024 with more experience and first-hand knowledge of the waters he would be sailing, it was no guarantee of success.

Small Boats Annual 2008

The 2007 Small Reach Regatta

A portfolio of small boats

For the 2007 Small Reach Regatta, the waters off WoodenBoat swarmed with small boats for three days. Read the recap of that inaugural event.

July 2024

Boatbuilding in the Woods

Off the road and off the grid, a scow takes shape in the forest

First-time boatbuilder Greg Goodman set up camp on a family-owned piece of land in the heart of a western-Michigan forest, created a workshop under a tarp, and built a flat-bottomed scow of his own design, learning valuable lessons along the way.

June 2024

The Erie Canal by Canoe

A solo voyage along the 19th-century commercial waterway

Hugh Rand launched his solo canoe at the westernmost end of the Erie Canal and paddled the 363 miles to its easternmost end. The 19-day voyage took him through 19 guard gates and 35 locks.

May 2024

A Faering of His Own

Pursuing Viking traditions in upstate New York

Craig Hohm’s affection for Viking ships and Norwegian workboats led him to build a 19’ faering, starting with trees from his woodland lot and using many traditional methods.

April 2024

CROW’s Last Sail

Building a boat fit for a voyage into the unknown

A lifelong dream to sail the Atlantic will become real, posthumously, in a purpose-built, self-steering, square-rigged adaptation of the Bolger-designed Micro.

March 2024

The Åland Islands

Sailing Finland's labyrinthine archipelago

The Åland archipelago is a small-boat paradise, with hundreds of islands and little traffic. The summer days are long and the nights cool. A German couple live out their voyaging dream under sail and oar.

February 2024

Backcountry Boatbuilding

Marooned on a Maine island, two cousins build an escape vessel and sail home

Tyler Sauter and Ross Beane wanted to see if they could use minimal tools and supplies to build a boat seaworthy enough to carry them both safely home if they were stranded on an uninhabited island off the coast of Maine.

January 2024

Lake Roosevelt

A summertime singlehanded cruise

For Bob Van Putten, traveling down the Columbia River’s Lake Roosevelt was a voyage of discovery through remote landscapes and scorching summer heat.

December 2023

The Heart of a Cruiser

One man's journey from long-distance rowing to shorter motor-sailing cruises

For many years, Alex Zimmerman has enjoyed long-distance solo rowing adventures along the British Columbia coast, but he was forced to rethink both the boat and the voyage plans when he was diagnosed with AFib.