Voices

In an effort to get veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder back into society, a doctor discovered that sailing was the perfect prescription.

Being a United States Coast Guard Helicopter Rescue Swimmer may just be the best job in the world. Mario Vittone explains what it takes to make the cut.

The RS21 combines modern tech with good, old-fashioned design sense in a  keelboat that is fast,  affordable and fun to sail.

Learn which tackle you should keep and what you should toss as you perform wintertime maintenance.

A 110-year-old lighthouse in the middle of Chesapeake Bay has been converted to a rustic and relaxing B&B.

Most of what you know about hypothermia and cold- water immersion is likely incorrect. Mario Vittone separates fact from fiction in his latest Lifelines column.

Visual signals are key for a successful rescue at sea. If you want the Coast Guard to find your crew, think bigger and brighter.

Seabirds hovering over a striped-bass blitz can mean a hook-up is imminent; that is, if you know how to work the feeding frenzy efficiently.

On a damp gray morning in September, I left a dry room in a B&B on Bellevue Avenue to walk down to Bannister’s Wharf, smack in the middle of the harbor front, ground zero for the town’s seafaring past.

It's time for a change of watch at Soundings, but it's definitely not goodbye. The ship sails on, with able crew.

“Dream big,” is the advice Gary Reich’s father gave him during their first-ever visit to a boat show together.

Airline pilots use checklists to ensure they get everyone to their destination safely. Boaters can learn a thing or two from this practice.

I remember the first time I walked though the door at the Soundings offices in Essex, Connecticut.

I love EPIRBs. When asked what one thing I would take with me offshore, I always answer: an EPIRB.

Offshore fishing requires jumping through a lot of hoops, spending a lot of hard-earned dough and dedicating a lot of time.

In his latest Ask Mario video, Mario Vittone answers Craig Warner's question: " When would you let one of your crew go into the water to assist someone who is unable to help themselves?"

In this Ask Mario video, Mario Vittone answers Len Thibodeaux's question: Does Mario prefer EPIRBs or Satellite Tracking Devices?

On a damp, gray day in May, I trudged along a country road lined by towering hornbeams, across a short field and past the chicken coop.

It was 1977, only a couple of months before the original Star Wars movie was released, when my elementary school classmates and I shuffled up the steps of the long, yellow school bus.

For the past year, Mario Vittone has been writing the Lifelines: Safety And Rescue At Sea blog for Soundingsonline.com. Now he is undertaking a new venture with Soundings, called Ask Mario, where readers can get answers to their boating safety questions. In this video, Mario answers the question: How often should thru hull fittings be replaced? WATCH