Flag states and yacht registration: why the paperwork matters to guests
The flag on a yacht's stern names the country that inspects and certifies the vessel. Here is what flag states do, why owners change flags, and why guests should care.
Vessel Mag — DESTINATIONS · CHARTER · LIFE AT SEA
What a three-year agent's playbook teaches about picking any service professional
Tia Glover built her real estate business one client at a time. Her method is a usable checklist for anyone hiring an expert, on land or on the water.
Fresh water at sea: tanks, watermakers and why showers are short
Why boat showers are short: the on-board water budget in litres, how a watermaker turns seawater into fresh water, and the costs and trade-offs of running one.
How a regatta start actually works: flags, horns and the five minutes before the gun
A regatta start is run in flags and sound signals, from the class flag to the preparatory signal to the gun. Learn to read the sequence and the first minutes after it.
Sailing the Inside Passage: Alaska's wild waterway, and what it asks of a crew
A thousand miles of sheltered channels, cold water and whales — and very little of the infrastructure Mediterranean cruisers expect.
Choice Hotels hits 600 extended-stay properties, and it says more are coming
The Denver Airport opening caps a milestone for the largest franchised extended-stay portfolio, with nearly 30,000 more rooms in the pipeline.
The Azores: the Atlantic crossing's most underrated stop
Nine volcanic islands halfway between Portugal and the Caribbean, with sheltered harbours, volcano hikes and provisioning worth planning a passage around.
Charter
The Mediterranean charter guide every first-timer needs
Routes, seasons, paperwork and the costs that never appear in the headline rate, before you sign anything.
Why Louisiana's lieutenant governor spent 10 days selling the state in Japan
Tourism offices court foreign travel agents directly, because those agents book groups that stay longer and spend more. Here is how the pitch works.
Sailing the Whitsundays: anchorages worth the detour
Seventy-four islands, one sheltered lagoon and a handful of bays that justify leaving the main channel.
Christmas in the Caribbean or summer in the Med: the honest calendar
Two seasons, two winds, two price curves — and a third option in the shoulder months that the smart money quietly books instead.
Life Aboard
Life aboard a sailboat: the watermaker, the laundry and the weather wait
A candid explainer on the daily rhythm aboard — where the water comes from, why laundry is a weather decision, and what a boat teaches you about patience.
The galley: cooking in a seaway, and why the chef starts at five
Gimballed stove, one-pot logic, and a fridge that holds exactly what the week needs — the kitchen that feeds the boat runs on physics the guests never see.
Your first night passage: what to expect as a guest
Why the boat leaves at ten to arrive at eight, what the red lights mean, and how to be the passenger crews are glad to have on a midnight watch.
Regattas & Shows
What really happens behind the scenes at a boat show
The week the fleet gathers is a week of contracts, crew logistics and carpet that arrives by the metre. A look at what the visitors never see.
Superyacht shows vs boat shows: what actually separates them
One sells you a tender and a trailer. The other sells you 80 metres of steel. Who goes, what sits on the water, and why the two rarely mix.
Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez, for people who don't sail
Every autumn the town fills with a century of sailing history — gaff rigs and grand-prix machines racing the same gulf — and the spectator programme is simply: be there, walk the quay, watch the light.
Yachting News
What a weekly real estate transactions list actually tells you
Dawson County's Register of Deeds publishes a plain list of deed transfers every week. Here is how to read one.
How superyachts are built, from the first steel cut to sea trials
A build runs through design, contract, construction, outfitting and trials. Here is what happens at each stage, and where the money and the delays usually sit.
Green yachting technology: where the industry actually stands on emissions
Hybrid propulsion is moving from experiment to option, shore power is spreading berth by berth, and the fuels of the next decade are still being tested. A status report, without the marketing.