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Elaine Bunting's blog

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It's pants at Skandia Cowes Week

Why lucky knickers are all the rage
7 August 2008

Pindar shows her heels

The super-powerful but ill-fated new Pindar finally shows what she can do by winning her comeback race
7 August 2008

Pete Goss's daring voyage

A Southern Ocean voyage that puts modern races in the shade is in the offing
6 June 2008

Tumbleweed in Antigua

After Antigua Sailing Week - deserted!
6 June 2008

Leopard and the 'sail-powered motorboat' record

Why reviving the Atlantic 'powered' record is a step backwards and nothing to boast about
4 June 2008

Why Peyron plays Purcell

Loick Peyron likes to play Purcell and Handel's Messiah at sea - to warn off whales
4 June 2008

Soldini celebrates total supremacy

Giovanni Soldini's dominance of the Class 40 fleet of the Artemis Transat make it a superb showcase
28 May 2008

Peyron wins by going slower

Going slower is harder work, reveals Loick Peyron, grand master of solo sailing
27 May 2008

Stopping the killing

Can't something be done to prevent yachts injuring and killing marine creatures?
23 May 2008

Whale collisions a perennial risk

The number of yacht collisions with whales could make a catalogue - like this one
22 May 2008

North Atlantic 'teeming with life'

Are unsually light winds the cause of so many marine wildlife sightings?
22 May 2008

Tragic deaths

Why marine mammals being run down by yachts is a tragedy
22 May 2008

More Transat roadkill

Keel bulb is embedded in side of whale
21 May 2008

Man bites shark

Solo sailor Vincent Riou's violent encounter with a basking shark
21 May 2008

Guillemot enduring the pain

Why bashing hard to windward with a broken rib might be worthwhile training
19 May 2008

Keeping an eye out

Is this the most startling spinnaker logo ever?
15 May 2008

Foie gras to go

An imminent transatlantic arrival sees Phil Sharp dreaming of fine dining
14 May 2008

Solo sailors: we must tame these boats

Solo skippers' debate about how to limit the power of Open 60s is set to change face of this class
12 May 2008

Secrecy and propaganda

How a 36-hour position report blackout in the Artemis Transat will up the ante
9 May 2008

Ellen's team of three

A great shot of the three boats that make up BT Team Ellen
8 May 2008

Plymouth, fabulous Plymouth

How Mark Turner and Ellen MacArthur's team brought a touch of the Med to Plymouth
8 May 2008

Open 60s: pure sailing pleasure

Why sailing Dee Caffari's new Open 60 Aviva shows the beauty of racing these beasts
8 May 2008

The adventurers' club

Some of Britain's best-known adventurers and sailors launch Champagne G. H. Mumm's Cordon Rouge Club
1 May 2008

A penchant for Flings

What else could Lord Laidlaw, owner of Highland Fling, have called his yacht?
30 April 2008

Small but perfectly formed

Why racing a 10ft boat round the world isn't as mad as it seems - apparently
30 April 2008

Odd one out

It's Keisha, Mutya, Heidi and...er...Ellen
29 April 2008

Fruitcake challenge?

Just how crazy would you have to be to race round the world in a 10ft boat?
15 April 2008

5 Castles and 5 Islands Challenge

Run and race along the Northumberland coast, with a dash of rum. How good does that sound?
8 April 2008

Vendée Globe's dark horse?

The new all-British Open 60 with the right pedigree but no solo racing track record - yet
8 April 2008

Wide load

A fat bottomed lady holds up the traffic in the New Forest
8 April 2008

Vendée race favourite's new idea

Check out these motorboat style lifting strakes on Vincent Riou's PRB
4 April 2008

Alinghi's capsize bodes ill

Alinghi's crew suffered a bloody nose - literally. It shows that catching up in the multihull world is a risky game
4 April 2008

Leaving the boat floating

More on the controversy of abandoning a boat that was later safely salvaged
3 April 2008

Yours for only €115 million

Maltese Falcon is up for sale, less than two years after the superyacht's launch
2 April 2008

Not an April Fool's joke

This disclaimer came with a press release. And, no, it's not a joke
1 April 2008

Strength in mortal danger

Are examples of survival at sea to be cherished?
21 March 2008

Abandoning ship

When is the right time to leave your boat?
18 March 2008

Controlled explosion?

Another one bites the dust
17 March 2008

Foot fetish

Shiny new shoes...
17 March 2008

Flying gybe

Check out this photo montage of a foiler Moth gybing at 16 knots
17 March 2008

Abandoned yacht found in Caribbean

A yacht abandoned mid-Atlantic in December due to risk of dismasting is salvaged in the Caribbean with her rig still standing
14 March 2008

Precious cargo

Does a new book really need this amount of packaging?
12 March 2008

Bare breasts and bedroom hair

A design idea for manufacturers of upmarket yachts?
11 March 2008

Pete Goss prepares for the storm

Goss's replica Mount Bay lugger, currently in build, is about to weather her first storm
10 March 2008

60ft seas in the Atlantic

Atlantic storm is whipping up monster waves SW of Ireland
10 March 2008

Thailand - keeping tabs on you?

Could moves to make compulsory tracking of visiting yachts be a sign of things to come?
5 March 2008

Frostad to head Volvo Race

Norwegian sailor get top job - no surprise there
18 February 2008

Groupama 3 capsize: a lucky break?

Franck Cammas and crew were incredibly lucky their boat failed where it did
18 February 2008

Big stresses on Hugo Boss

How waves crack and move a carbon hulll
15 February 2008

A winning manifesto

Here's the written manifesto that won the Barcelona World Race
15 February 2008

Rough work and salt water sores

What 28,000 miles of racing does to the body
15 February 2008

Shorter round the world?

Which is longer: the Barcelona World Race or the Vendée Globe?
15 February 2008

VOR: who's got the top job?

A clue that the post of chief executive of the Volvo Ocean Race has been filled, and the word is...
15 February 2008

Arriving in style

The Hugo Boss boys make a dapper arrival in Barcelona
14 February 2008

Barcelona World Race: winning teams

Why Alex Thomson may be the biggest winner in this round the world race
12 February 2008

Gutted by fire

These photos show the devastation of an engine room blaze
11 February 2008

Faster and faster

How much faster can man sail round the world on the wind?
29 January 2008

Tragedy of a rescue

The rescue of a fisherman adrift for 20 days illustrates the careful watch that only yachtsmen keep
28 January 2008

Ice maiden

An interesting race course for a day boat designed to fit in a 40ft container
23 January 2008

A view from the bridge

How a cross-Channel ferry avoids collisions
22 January 2008

The new 'ultimate' solo race?

French company plans the new 'ultimate solo round the world race' - in multihulls
21 January 2008

IDEC - fit for purpose

Joyon's trimaran is all about simplicity and economy - right down to these details
20 January 2008

Joyon: the reluctant hero

Francis Joyon's outstanding new solo record has reignited a few sailors' ambitions
20 January 2008

One port in, one out for Volvo Race

India stopover confirmed, the Middle East is out and who's taking over from Glenn Bourke?
18 January 2008

Stolen boat spotted

...from a kitchen window
17 January 2008

Attacked with a machete

A couple were viciously attacked while at anchor during their Caribbean charter
17 January 2008

Amazing adventurer

I take my hat off to Peter Passano, the 77-year-old US sailor who has won a top cruising award
16 January 2008

Hall of the sailing heroes

Raymarine/YJA Yachtsman of the Year and Young Sailor of the Year are deserving winners
15 January 2008

Joyon set to blast record

Don't look at Ellen's record for a measure of Joyon's achievement - look at the fully crewed records
14 January 2008

Relative likeness?

Could these two characters possibly be related?
10 January 2008

Mine's Bigger

...and better, says the author of this book
10 January 2008

UK government plans voyage monitoring

The government's E-Borders scheme could mean the monitoring of crew making international voyages
9 January 2008

Up wiz ze cock

How a cockerel joke was disallowed, amazingly enough
9 January 2008

Bullimore off the hook?

Bullimore's solo record is surely scuppered, and why we should remember this day 10 years ago
9 January 2008

More fabulous Franglais

Francis Joyon experiences a severe pain in the behind
8 January 2008

Angle grinders to the rescue

Some solutions to minimise the dangers of the man-killer tool
8 January 2008

3D fun

Get on the coloured specs for this new boat
8 January 2008

Can't be arsed?

Builders but no bottom to the Boat Show
7 January 2008

Bow torn off

See how the bow fell off Thomas Coville's giant tri
7 January 2008

More on cutting the rig

One dismasting that nearly led to a rescue
7 January 2008

Lookalikes?

Could they perhaps be related?
4 January 2008

Fidel Castro sinks

Or so they say...
4 January 2008

Marina bargains - or rip-offs?

A story about 'bargain' marina prices. Don't make me laugh
3 January 2008

Cutting loose

More on how to cut your rig away after a dismasting
2 January 2008

Fully qualified

All set for the Vendée Globe, corrects Mike Golding
2 January 2008

News? What news?

New Year sailing news that is no surprise
2 January 2008

How to choose a front cover

A completely gratuitous post about women's breasts
20 December 2007

A scrabble for the Vendée?

Lots of new boats around, many of them still not qualified to race
20 December 2007

On track for the Vendée Globe?

At least five new Open 60s are not yet qualified for the Vendée. But a way will be found...
20 December 2007

Dee Caffari talks as she awaits rescue

After being dismasted, Dee Caffari spoke to me earlier
19 December 2007

A big job comes free

Volvo Ocean Race chief exec resigns and Team Origin scales down. Do I hear musical chairs?
19 December 2007

How to cut away your rig

Do you carry bolt croppers. And are you sure they'll worK? We tested some
19 December 2007

Rescued from their sinking yacht

The catamaran crew who were holed and rescued in the Atlantic
19 December 2007

What fun we had...

..on the ARC this year
17 December 2007

Abandoned yacht still afloat

This photo appears to show a yacht abandoned in haste
17 December 2007

Heroic effort

Dee Caffari rustles up a report even though she can't manage to sleep or eat
9 December 2007

A day of high drama

It's all damage, disaster and problems out there by the sound of it
8 December 2007

Reader rescued after yacht is holed

Pete Kyne, his 17-year-old son, and one other crew rescued after his catamaran is holed
8 December 2007

PRB's wingmast catastrophe

Barcelona World Race favourites are out, and what's going on with these wingmast failures?
8 December 2007

Video highlights?

Video of Hugo Boss tanking along is a notable exception among lots of grainy talking heads
8 December 2007

Caught out in a thunderstorm

Chucking it down in Sydney Harbour
8 December 2007

499 miles, and throttled back?

Alex Thomson is fast, but can he and Capey hold the Hugo Boss beast back?
8 December 2007

Race PR: let's park the maths

Are press reports from the solo races killing the golden goose?
6 December 2007

Missing schooner found

Strange case of the missing schooner that's not missing
6 December 2007

Dismasted 400 miles from land

Dismasted Open 60 faces 400 miles motoring into the tradewinds with a 40hp engine
6 December 2007

Mystery of missing schooner

A search is on for a missing schooner in the Pacific
5 December 2007

America's Cup design challenges

A taste of the wisdom of Team New Zealand design co-ordinator Andy Claughton
5 December 2007

Octopus claims Golding?

Mixed metaphors and mixed fortunes in the Doldrums
5 December 2007

No fork handles in Salcombe

You can buy anything in Salcombe, so long as you wear it
4 December 2007

More on that sinking feeling

Find out where this Sunsail yacht hit a reef
4 December 2007

Running into a derelict yacht

Inevitably, an ARC yacht nearly ran into the abandoned Westerly Corsair
4 December 2007

'You abandon her - you sink her'

The moral and practical argument in favour of scuttling a yacht
4 December 2007

SailRocket tops 42 knots

The wingmast machine is getting closer to the 50-knot barrier - and so are others
4 December 2007

A humanitarian crisis

Over 20,000 illegal immigrants came to the Canaries last year and yachtsmen are being put on the alert
2 December 2007

ARC rescue: lots of questions

ARC rescue raises some interesting questions
2 December 2007

ARC dramas

Two yachtsmen rescued from a liferaft by ARC crew - and other dramas
2 December 2007

Box-fresh triumph

A year after deciding he'd like to sample short-handed racing, Peter Harding is celebrating a great result
30 November 2007

Cod science?

Are your pants preserving your skin's natural pH?
30 November 2007

That sinking feeling

Pictures of a charter yacht that ran up on a reef and started sinking
29 November 2007

AC: saying the unsayable

The America's Cup has become a dinner party bore droning on endlessly
28 November 2007

A tribute to Steve Fossett

The legacy of a amazing sportsman and pioneer
28 November 2007

Lost in the clutter

What are the chances of a yacht being spotted on radar?
28 November 2007

Taking the slow route

Why liveaboard cruising is a tricky term to interpret
28 November 2007

Run down by a ship

Why the ship that ran down this yacht might not have noticed a thing
27 November 2007

Want to do the ARC in 7 days?

I have a little plan to do the ARC in a week - or less
26 November 2007

Joyon: 425 miles on Day 1

Blast off for solo sailor on his bid to beat Ellen's record
26 November 2007

Bullimore's rescue heroes?

Who's the hero of the Southern Oceans?
26 November 2007

Yacht run down by ship

Crew escape as their yacht is hit amidships by a freighter - take a look at this pic!
25 November 2007

Putting troubles behind

Mark Matthews is back in the ARC in the yacht he had to abandon in the Atlantic in 2005
24 November 2007

ARC yacht's colourful history

A yacht with a history of bright ideas, failed dreams, disability and debt has a new crew
24 November 2007

A criminal waste of wood?

More on the controversial award-winning sun lounger
23 November 2007

Joyon's solo 'green' record

If Francis Joyon beats Ellen's round the world record, he'll do it powered only by wind and sun
23 November 2007

Bullimore's folly?

Tony Bullimore on how it's heroic to be rescued
22 November 2007

Top marine award? What a joke

The marine industry's top gear design award went to a chaise longue - what a disgrace
22 November 2007

Back to cross the Atlantic

The sailor who has put tragedy behind him to do the ARC again
21 November 2007

Small and simple

Who needs a big fancy yacht to sail across the Atlantic. Meet the 23-year-olds setting off in a Folkboat
21 November 2007

The maestro is back

After a seven year gap from Open 60s, Michel Desjoyeaux is showing how it's done
21 November 2007

Tradewinds ARC on the cards?

A record ARC fleet is looking at a fast start and some cracking tradewinds
19 November 2007

Extreme frustration for Dee Caffari

Dark times in the Doldrums for Aviva and a resolution to stop 'zigzagging'
18 November 2007

Bullshit blogging

Think of a number, any number. Double it. Then call it your blog audience
16 November 2007

To scuttle or not to scuttle?

More from the debate on whether to pull the plug if you have to abandon
16 November 2007

A faster, safer multihull?

Why the 60ft trimarans were their own worst enemies
16 November 2007

Trimaran finishes - with a broken bow

A mysterious incident tore off the whole main hull bow of trimaran Banque Populaire
15 November 2007

Liferafts: puncture dangers

Valise liferafts are vulnerable to punctures - and more from the raft debate
15 November 2007

Watching paint dry

Exactly what is the point of video conferencing?
14 November 2007

Golding's frontline lesson

Want better. lighter sails? Take your sailmaker along for the hard work...
13 November 2007

Abandoned yacht washes up in Azores

How did a yacht abandoned on the ARC end up foundering 1,200 miles north?
13 November 2007

Scary stuff on the TJV

Could anyone lose their life again on an ocean race? Yes, and it could be this easy...
12 November 2007

Golding back to the front

As the rock stars wake up to Open 60s, the under-rated Mike Golding shows once again how it's done
12 November 2007

More bizarre scenes from Barcelona

How about this for a totally mad skipper's presentation?
10 November 2007

Riou - the race favourite

The favourite for the Barcelona World Race insists he is not feeling under pressure
10 November 2007

Alex Thomson & the master race

Have a look at Alex Thomson's very, very strange Hugo Boss promo video
10 November 2007

'Who will crack?'

Or should we be asking the pairs of skippers 'who will fight?' on the Barcelona World Race?
9 November 2007

Barcelona's world class race

At last sponsors can see America's Cup style come to ocean racing
9 November 2007

Dee Caffari's safety test

Find out how Dee Caffari rates one of the most important bits of safety kit this (or last) decade
7 November 2007

Walking a tightrope

The tightrope walker has slipped back but the British newcomers are looking flash
7 November 2007

Crunch time for the TJV

Why weather decisions right now could be the turning point of the race
7 November 2007

Hatherleigh to the rescue?

Pindar's 'international rescue ship' to go to the boys on dismasted Artemis?
7 November 2007

Things that go bump in the night

The Pindar girls scream to avoid a crashing visit in the TJV
6 November 2007

Is this man chuffed, or what?

The yacht designer with the mostest right now
6 November 2007

Cheers to the French

They saved the innovative OSTAR proa from 1968 - and she's still sailing
6 November 2007

Liferaft packs - would they save your life?

Is the emergency kit in a liferaft really up to saving your life? You don't sound optimistic
5 November 2007

60ft of pure speed - fill your boots

Ridiculously tricked out with every go faster gadget and way faster than the wind
4 November 2007

Au revoir to the TJV

The Open 60s are deserting this great race, and the Class 40 is set to take over
3 November 2007

Golding: leader of the pack

A lucky break for Golding as he leads the British charge in the Transat Jacques Vabre?
3 November 2007

Who's the grandaddy?

Mike Birch celebrates his 76th birthday - as he gets ready to race in the two-handed Transat Jacques Vabre
1 November 2007

Nine days in a liferaft

The couple rescued after their keel fell off - and the liferaft kit that could have left them for dead
30 October 2007

Solo round the world one-design

A 52ft canting keeler round the world one-design for the fixed budget SolOceans race
29 October 2007

Racing a Laser aged 80..

...and a bit. Pete Raymer is clearly a legend
29 October 2007

Happy birthday, Mr Pindar

Celebrations for British ocean sailor's greatest supporter
29 October 2007

Young pretenders

Two young newcomers cause a stir at the Transat Jacques Vabre
28 October 2007

An MBE for Dee

The girl gets a well-deserved gong
27 October 2007

Pindar dismasted again

What's going on with these wingmast tube failures?
26 October 2007

Goodbye to the genius multihull

End of an era of stupendous OSTAR innovation as the multihulls are expelled from the Transat race
26 October 2007

Barefaced cheek

Dodgy boat names, and a spot of full frontal nudity - so don't say I didn't warn you
26 October 2007

'Hanging on to the steering wheel'

Francis Joyon prepares for the most stressful voyage in the world
25 October 2007

School of tough heroes

The Mini Transat winner is straight from the Eric Tabarly school
24 October 2007

A lovely photo of a pair of ...OH NO!!

Classic undress in the best possible taste. Honest
24 October 2007

Tightrope walker's voyage

One circus skill that will come in handy
22 October 2007

America's Cup: the plot so far

Why has the America's Cup gone to court? You tell me
22 October 2007

Extreme weather

Check out this photo of a rainspout in the Med
22 October 2007

Well rude

Yet more dodgy boat names
21 October 2007

More rude boat names

Some people! I don't know...
19 October 2007

Taking up the challenge

Sounds like the Class 40s are gathering speed
19 October 2007

Heavy weather in Malta

Scarified by a gale on the opening day of the Rolex Middle Sea Race
18 October 2007

Whales, dolphins and other water stunts

A surprising opener for the sailing Olympics
18 October 2007

No, it's not indecent

And this really is my last post on the subject
18 October 2007

Class 40 stirring in US?

Several new designs in the offing, reports Tim Kent
18 October 2007

Fortysomething thrills

One man who thinks Class 40 is the most exciting racing option around
17 October 2007

Hlp! Snkg fst

Cd u txt msg da Cst Grd at c?
17 October 2007

Dangers of hot chocolate

Boat sinks as skipper gets a hot drink
17 October 2007

More on women's breasts

This used to be a sailing story. *Sigh* Anyway, another photo....
17 October 2007

A totally rude subject

Some names you shouldn't call your boat
16 October 2007

Big Tits banned

Sailors told to change the name of their boat - Jackie Big Tits. Some helpful alternatives...
15 October 2007

Britain's forgotten solo sailor?

Sam Davies is all heart as she goes training
12 October 2007

More medals for Golding

Time for the solo hero to extend his trophy cabinet?
12 October 2007

Tramp story

How Yachting Monthly's finest set up a boat show sting
11 October 2007

What's in a name?

Vendée skippers given one-line character studies
11 October 2007

A big Mini setback

Mini Transat race leader is thinking of retiring after technical problems
11 October 2007

A packed house

With a year to go, the Vendée Globe is hanging out the 'No Vacancies' sign
10 October 2007
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