Waking to heavy frost this morning in New England, my thoughts naturally turn to those sailing south in warmer climates. Over 60 cruising sailboats in the Caribbean 1500 rally left Hampton, Virginia, earlier this week headed for Tortola in the British Virgin Islands—and don't I wish I was aboard one of them!

These are mostly sailors who will spend the winter cruising around the Caribbean, many to return homeward next spring before hurricane season, some heading for faraway waters. I've crewed in this fleet twice in recent years but didn't have the getaway time this year. It's a great way for people who feel more comfortable knowing there's likely another boat not far over the horizon to do a longer voyage.

So as I head off to the boatyard again this weekend, heat gun in hand, to shrinkwrap my boat for the winter, I'm thinking of all you hearty souls out there in the warm waters of the world! For fun I'll read your daily updates and follow your positions on the tracker. Ah, life on a sailboat! If you can't do it right now, at least you can read about it!

If you're living in a northern climate and you've hauled out for the winter, better get moving soon on winterizing your boat's engine and water systems before the first hard freeze comes along. Don't make the mistake I once made and had to pay for in the spring with shock, expense, bruised knuckles—and almost sinking my boat!

The power of water's expansion during freezing is astonishing. Anywhere water gathers in your boat is vulnerable to damage. Follow your engine manual to winterize its cooling system. Then make a good winterizing checklist and pump antifreeze through every single waterline and hose in the boat, including some you may forget about. (Deck wash-down pump? Shower sump? Manual bilge pump?)

In my own case, in the first year with a new-to-me sailboat, I didn't forget or overlook as much as assume too much. I carefully filled every line and hose with antifreeze, and shrinkwrapped the boat for the winter. Launched her in the spring, excited on a warm but windless day, and motored to my mooring. Shut down, prepared to lock up and leave the boat ready for sailing come the weekend, and noticed the bilge pump running. It shut off, I turned away (thinking probably just the stuffing box drip), stowed a few more things, got ready to go—and heard the bilge pump come on again. Oh no! Read more...

Here's the latest word on the story of Laura Dekker ... and I promise my last post on this (at least for many months to come).

The Dutch juvenile court should announce tomorrow its findings regarding the psychological fitness of 14-year-old Laura Dekker for sailing around the world alone—either to allow or prohibit her going. She is the youth poised to go after the world record for youngest solo circumnavigator, a record the older Australian teenager Jessica Watson is now at sea seeking. The latest wrinkle in Dekker's story, however, could make this even more of a media circus. The Dekkers have apparently signed a contract with a television station to produce a reality television-type show about her voyage. Apparently a camera crew would closely follow her boat around the world, filming her every move, word, meal, article of clothing, and—perhaps—sailing technique. Reality television! I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt, but reality TV generally trends closer to the superficial than to the sublime. Further, Dekker's lawyer has even argued to the court that her voyage will be less risky with all these people following so closely. Well, duh! Meanwhile, another sailor has offered also to sail beside her, and hotel rooms and other accommodations are being offered at all ports. You can just hear her lawyer opining, Why, she'll hardly be alone at all!

At the same time, Laura continues to say, "It's all about the sailing." I'm going way out on a limb here to suggest that this whole story is becoming less and less about what real long-distance voyaging can be all about. The sailing literature is full of stories written by voyagers, solo and otherwise, who speak eloquently about their love of the sea, their adventures, their meditations when alone with this incredible environment—and what's it's really like to sail with an independent spirit, self-reliant and self-discovering. Just check out the logs at sailblogs.com and tripsailor.com of sailors now cruising the world, for a taste of the many who have worked so hard to make their dreams come true, who understand that indeed it's all about the sailing. I'll wish the same for Dekker when she's able to accomplish that.