Join Soundings technical editor Tom Neale and his wife, Mel, as they take their Gulfstar 53 motorsailer, Chez Nous, down the Intracoastal Waterway.

Click play to watch the first of their video logs from the passage, which takes you from Alligator Cut to Hobucken Cut, N.C., with plenty of cruising advice along the way.

Click here to purchase the two-DVD set “Cruising the East Coast with Tom Neale,” full of helpful how-to tips. Special features include a seldom-seen manatee “Pect Walk” and a poker run on an offshore high-speed performance boat.

More from this issue:

20 gift ideas for boaters on your list
Nine new engines from Yamaha