From the Editor
As yachtsmen we like to think of ourselves as environmentally friendly, but could we do more to be truly Green?

On the Wind
Ambassador Ellen woos the Far East – Ed Gorman sails with Ellen MacArthur and her crew on a grand tour of record setting and banging the corporate drum from Japan to Singapore; Pete Goss is back, sailing a 30ft tri in the Round Britain. Plus: horrific injury precipitates recall of white flares; all change for the London Boat Show

Prize draw
Win a chance to race aboard an America’s Cup yacht in the Solent – 30 places available on France 2 and 3

The Walrus
The Walrus looks to the spiritual in an attempt to work out how long it takes a normal liveaboard pursuing enlightenment to become distinctly odd

Letters
The ‘slot effect’ explained; the lottery of Olympic racing under new scoring rules; rubbish in Paradise; can a mast be weakened by lightning?

Robin Knox-Johnston
It’s the 50th anniversary of the Tall Ships Race and Robin looks at how the event has impacted on the lives of hundreds of young people

Gear
Pump up da bass – quality onboard audio gear; waterproof gas sniffer for your bilge; give your mattress a ‘breather’; next-generation anchoring

AIS – saviour or spy?
The Automatic Identification System, the safety-inspired ship monitoring system, is now coming to yachts. But is it just too Big Brother? asks David Pugh

Leading Edge
Waves and magnets – could these be the answer to more environmentally friendly power generation?

Yachts
Pilot cutters make a comeback in Cornwall; retro daysailers with an Uffa Fox connection; rebirth of the 1920s 6-metre Nada in the Caribbean

On test: the ‘i’ factor
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 39i and 42DS. Jeanneau’s latest yachts bear the suffix ‘i’. It stands for ‘injection’ but is not an indication of high performance, but of a technique that leads to a greener, cleaner and roomier end product. David Pugh investigates

The long way round
The world is much larger when you’re sailing the ‘wrong way’ round it, against prevailing winds and currents. As Dee Caffari approaches the end of her epic bid to become the first woman to sail this route, Elaine Bunting reflects on the sheer scale of the task – the storms, the loneliness, the desperation

Cool keelboats for hot racing
Keelboats offer some of the most competitive racing in some of the best company and they’re enjoying a resurgence. Sue Pelling looks at the Dragon, Etchells 22 and the Laser SB3 to see what they have to offer

Land of the Shaman
The east Russian outpost of Kamchatka is home to the Koryak indians and their spiritual leaders, the shaman. To take the expedition yacht Shaman on a voyage of discovery seemed entirely appropriate

And the kids go too
How to combine family life and the children’s education with a long-term cruising plan. David Pugh asks the advice of six families on the ARC

Montserrat – rising from the ashes
Ten years after a devastating eruption signalled the start of volcanic activity on this beautiful Caribbean island, Chris Pala sails to its still-smoking shores

Cruising
A delivery crew involved in an accident must pay up in negligence case; making the case for red diesel derogation in the UK; Scots couple sail to the Poles on a mission to help wildlife; Plus: special report on sailing in Tunisia

Great Seamanship
Hunger is a great motivator. Tom Cunliffe revisits the story of John Caldwell, who was dismasted in the Pacific in a 29-footer in 1946. Having eaten his last pair of boots, he cast his eye on a circling shark – but how to catch it?

Racing
Mystery and speculation are back in the America’s Cup! As BMW Oracle launches its new boat, experts are debating whether or not she has a tandem keel. Plus: first impressions from Russell Coutts on his RC44 design

Inside Alinghi
A new man joins the Defender’s sailing team to talk tactics and the base gets a visit from two Formula 1 luminaries

SuperSail
A disturbing report into the loss of Land’s End in Corsica highlights lack of passage planning; interesting developments under the water on a 100-footer

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Last Word
Peter Isler has just joined BMW Oracle as navigator. We ask him what’s it’s like to sail with Chris Dickson