Ocean - Satori Sailing - Sailing School and Private Charters in Marblehead - Boston Area

SAILING BLOG

All Posts

Satori Sailing is changing hands

After seven successful years Satori Sailing founder Capt. James Ashton has recently sold the company to Graham Sharp, one of the current instructors. Capt. James, who is looking to take some time off from professional sailing, said; “It’s hard to believe how far we’ve come since I founded Satori Sailing in 2019 with just me and my beloved Capri 22, SATORI. Seven years later, alongside an incredible team of captain/instructors, we’ve helped hundreds of people achieve their

Graham Sharp

Apr 101 min read

Winch etiquette – the safe use of winches

I found myself explaining winch etiquette several times on a recent trip so I thought I would post this blog, explaining what winches do, how they work and how to keep your fingers and hands safe! What do winches do? Mechanical winches are an important workhorse on any boat and fulfill 3 important purposes: 1. The crazed surface of the drum supplies friction, enabling you to hold large forces by keeping the line taught on the drum. 2. They supply mechanical advantage – ty

Graham Sharp

Mar 262 min read

Marine Emergency Electronics Explained

EPIRB, PLB, Garmin inReach We get asked a lot of questions about marine emergency electronics systems, so as I am sailing around the Grenadines, I thought I would try to explain the different systems in simple, understandable terms. There are lots of buzzwords and acronyms in use, and to add to the confusion, the technology has rapidly evolved over the last 50 years — first with satellite communications, then with GPS, and later with digital navigation systems. Understanding

Graham Sharp

Mar 45 min read

Red, Left, Return – What? Understanding the Two Buoyage Systems

I was recently in Auckland, New Zealand, and noticed a couple of buoys in the harbor that reminded me of home. (For those who don’t know me, I’m English.) In this photo, the boat docks are to the left, and the open ocean is to the right. Many of you are considering exciting international sailing vacations to the Mediterranean, Adriatic, Asia, and Australasia, so I thought it was worth reminding everyone that the world uses two different buoyage systems — and most of these des

Graham Sharp

Jan 282 min read

But what about the Sails and Rigging?

Having posted a blog on Winterization last week, one of our readers asked a good question – what about the Sails, Mast and Rigging? Well here goes, taking each component in turn: Sails We take the easy way out and drop all our sails off at the local Sail loft. Most sail lofts will provide a cleaning, repair and storage service - so they wash, check and make minor repairs then store for the winter. They invoice you a few hundred bucks in Jan/Feb and you pick them up as

Graham Sharp

Oct 18, 20253 min read

Winterizing your Sailboat: A Step-by-Step Guide

Winterizing can be complex and involves a lot of tasks, so here is a detailed checklist we use – it’s mainly based on the RYA’s checklist, with some other inputs, such as from West Marine. The way we look at it, the more we do in the fall, the faster we get in the water in the spring. In simple terms, you need to either remove anything that could be damaged by freezing and damp or mitigate against that happening. Task Detail √ 1 Fuel Fill the fuel tank to prevent condens

Graham Sharp

Oct 12, 20254 min read