Sail Training, LLC

02/18/2026

First delivery of the year .. Blaine to Port Townsend , tomorrow morning on a beautiful Pacific Seacraft 37. Sailing conditions look promising but cold with Fraser river outflow.

Spending the night at Decatur island. 64 nautical miles.

12/03/2025

I’m leading a 10 day flotilla to the amazing Princess Louisa Inlet, from Bellingham, starting on May 9th, 2026. If you would like to be part of this adventure connect with me or San Juan Sailing.

11/18/2025

Oh no

EPIRBs

07/23/2025

There’s nothing quite like the calm of a protected cove and the quiet confidence of a perfect stern tie. Tucked in among the trees, these boats are securely anchored bow-out with their sterns tied to shore — a classic Pacific Northwest technique for maximizing space and stability in narrow anchorages ⚓ Whether you're rafted up with friends or seeking solitude, stern tying keeps you close to nature and steady through the night!

📸 credit: B. Fletcher, featuring vessels in Princess Cove off Wallace Island in the Gulf Islands of BC

10/08/2024

The Seattle J/24 Fleet put on a stellar World Championships!

07/23/2024

This last weekend (July 20/21) was spent teaching ASA 104 aboard a 1997 Beneteau 42, in and around Bellingham Bay. There's a lot to learn in two days around a wide range of topics, and the students were fully engaged.

Saturday night we could not get the claw style anchor to set in deep seaw**d strewn bottom and we had to retreat to Chuckanut bay, which was "Pleasant".

We had a wild squall come through on Sunday afternoon, bringing sudden 25 knot winds from the North, then dying and flipping to the South for the rest of the afternoon. It provided an excellent training session on reefing, heavy air sailing, weather, boat handling, and the importance of being prepared at all times.

Students did great, boat did great, and it was a fun and eventful weekend. Sometimes I wonder if I can just bring my own favorite anchor, but I guess you have to go with what you have. Would it be weird to BYOA (anchor)?

07/16/2024

Vesper AIS users, a surprise update to the iOS app dropped today for the “discontinued” app! Kinda of wild. First update in 2 years. Version number 2.5.20

07/15/2024

Each one of San Juan Sailing’s beautiful and well maintained boats have their own “Owner’s Guide” containing information on everything from boat handling, engine, systems, electronics, sails, and more.

One of my recent charter guests processed the Owner’s guide with a Large Language Model (LLM) more commonly known these days as “AI” and then just used the interface to ask the AI questions instead of flipping through the manual or searching. Each answer came with a citation (to w**d out hallucinations (!!!)).

So we were able to ask questions like what is the cruising RPM, or where is the wash down hose stored, and more, and it was just a joy and blast to use.

Of course this relies on internet access but there are ways of doing this locally/offline.

07/15/2024

Nice weekend orienting charter guests around the San Juan's, teaching a 104, and then flying back from Friday Harbor to Bellingham (about a 15 minute flight on a sweet tiny plane).

Pictured: my ride back to Bellingham and just one of the nicer boats we sailed with around the islands.

Not-Pictured: The boat I was on, a Tartan!

07/08/2024

A pleasantly busy weekend on boats. I had the pleasure of working with four separate groups of cruisers this week. Some needing docking experience, some out for new adventures, some training for offshore plans in the future, and a group of friends getting together for a great vacation.

The boats this time, a Catalina 28, a Beneteau 42, a Jeanneau 44 DS , and a Jeanneau 419. All excellent boats in their own right, with excellent owners and crew.

06/12/2024

I just spent the day with a lovely family aboard Lady Grey, a wonderful sailing vessel, mentoring them on docking, navigation, and orientation around the San Juan islands for their charter. They’re going to have a wonderful time on this time aboard an amazing vessel.

I love these mentorship sessions. It’s so positive and uplifting for everyone.

06/08/2024

Trip of a lifetime! Totally possible through training, commitment, and a spirit of adventure.

Several of our fleet boats are currently in the middle of a 31-day trip to explore the Broughton Islands, the area north of Desolation Sound! Here are several of the vessels rafted in Waddington Bay.

📸 credit: Misty Blue Yonder