For all the years I have been around cruising boats, there has always been the debate about carrying firearms. I still read neophyte questions by people looking for answers by asking others in social media forums and groups. It is most troubling.

I hope to present you with some facts surrounding guns on cruising boats. Not the legalities of doing so, but the very personal decisions and commitments required if you decide to bring them aboard.

What to do when a small boat approaches you from behind? How do you determine whether it is a friend or foe? A potential intruder comes aboard in port, what do you do? Let’s take a look at these situations, and discuss how to make sure the odds are on your side. Eliminating opportunity keeps you safer at sea and in port. Here are some ways to make that happen.

This begins a series of posts that offer an updated look at staying safe while cruising. This has been a hot topic over the years, but is even more important today. This series will look at current threats, provide insight and suggestions for keeping you and your crew out of harm’s way, and taking the proper steps to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You see the risks young people take walking down the street staring at their phones, texting their friends, oblivious of their surroundings. That is not the safe way to go cruising today.

Scott and Mary Flanders continue sharing their Med cruise with a visit to the Balearic Islands off Spain. This post is about the seaside town of Andratx, on the island of Mallorca.

To cruise the Med, one has to get there. Scott and Mary Flanders share their thoughts on that in this third post on general Med cruising.

Hopefully, it will give you some ideas and perhaps even some inspiration.

In this second post about Med cruising, Scott and Mary Flanders share tips about cruising, what it costs, what you'll need, and about sharing the experience with friends and family.

In this first of a three-part series, Scott and Mary Flanders discuss the reality of Mediterranean cruising, and why it is easier than you might think to enjoy this wonderful area. Their experiences on Egret, their Nordhavn 46, should inspire you to enjoy your own world cruise. 

Scott and Mary Flanders reflect on their world cruising adventures and highlight those areas they found most appealing to North Americans. Not everyone has the means to travel the world in a full displacement passagemaker, and this cruising couple explains us how we can explore the world in a way that is more attainable.

Cruising the Mediterranean is a unique experience, with rich history, fabulous cuisine, and crystal clear waters. The crew of Egret share their visit to Ponza off the Italian coast, a wonderful island that called them back several times. Scot and Mary urge you to go there on your own boat.

Scott and Mary Flanders share their photos and thoughts of traveling the less-popular cruising grounds of Newfoundland and beyond. The imagery is fabulous and the trip quite a unique experience to complement any cruising agenda.

The joys of cruising diminish when the trip becomes a monotonous routine, every day like the one before, always moving, pushing ahead to the final destination. It is a good thing to remember why you are out there, and find a way to slow down the daily grind, and enjoy the wonders that surround you each day.

Details of the 2017 NY Canal System, which opens this month. It is the bicentennial of the Erie Canal, ans will include lots of special events during the season.

Excerpts from one of my notebooks of a passage across an ocean. So glad I keep notes, as the reality gets fuzzy and eventually lost once you are ashore, fully rested, and had a pint or two.

Time to head to Florida for a quick trip and to visit both Dashew's new Cochise and attend the Miami International Boat Show.