“I called to the other men that the sky was clearing, and then a moment later I realized that what I had seen was not a rift in the clouds but the white crest of an enormous wave. During 26 years experience of the ocean in all its moods I had not encountered a wave so gigantic.

“It was a mighty upheaval of the ocean, a thing quite apart from the big white-capped seas that had been our tireless enemies for many days. I shouted, ‘For God’s sakes, hold on! It’s got us!’ ” — Sir Ernest Shackleton, “South: A Memoir of the Endurance Voyage” (Read More…)

Like crew aboard a ship about to get under way, you could feel the thrum and vibration as the diesels were started and then idled for a period. After the tugs eased her into the channel, the ship slowly picked up speed and gathered momentum. (Read More…)

The nautical metaphors were flying fast and furious Sunday night during Steve Kroft’s interview with President Obama on “60 Minutes.” (Read More…)

A bit of good news from Cairo, Ga., where the Seminole Marine Group last week hired back its 100th employee. (Read More…)

Seems like a hundred years ago I was standing in a cold winter boat shed talking with a single-handed sailor about to embark on his first ocean race. (Read More…)

Boats are like people. They like constant, regular use or exercise. They don’t like to be ridden hard and put away wet (without maintenance). And they don’t like to sit on the hard for extended periods of time. Like their owners, they’re capable of atrophying all on their own. (Read More…)

Consumers are deeper on the sidelines in this economic downturn than in any other we’ve lived through. They continue the process of deleveraging, getting their balance sheets in order as they try to find their sea legs again. (Read More…)

Question: When wiring or plumbing is buried away out of sight of the customer, say behind a panel or under the cabin sole, does it still have to look good or be aesthetically pleasing? Isn’t that the place you save a few bucks by saying the hell with the presentation? Who’s going see it? Who’s going to know? (Read More…)

One idea I wanted to explore at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show last week was the extent to which technology found on very large yachts trickles down to their smaller brethren, say those in the 40- to 60-foot range. Even smaller. (Read More…)

FLIBS is an important barometer. With more than $3 billion worth of boats and equipment on display over 3 million square feet of terra firma and terra not-so-firma, the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show is the exclamation point on the fall show season. (Read More…)