From the Editor
After two Volvo boats spun out on the first night of the first leg, questions are being asked about their fitness for the Southern Ocean – but what about the crew? How will they stand the pounding?

On the Wind
Are the cracks beginning to show among some of the Volvo teams as they face their hardest test yet, the Southern Ocean? – our Technical Editor looks below the surface; Mike Golding becomes FICO champion; two late-season tropical storms put the wind up the transatlantic fleet – meteorologist Simon Keeling explains; 60 years of the Yachting World Merlin

The Walrus
YachtsMEN unite! The Walrus uncovers a secret organisation determined to hold back the increasing hordes of women solo circumnavigators

Letters
Are professionals killing our sport?; gas safety advice; wiring worries; and would yachtsmen cheat if we had no time limits on races?

Robin Knox-Johnston
As efforts to find alternative energy sources from wind and waves start to encroach on the sea, yachtsmen must accept limitations on their sailing

Gear – from METS
The Marine Equipment Trade Show in Amsterdam
is where the newest gear in Europe is displayed.
We bring you news of a design award-winning bowthruster, a simple device to improve the holding of a Clamcleat, a pivoting track from Harken and a weather station in your pocket, as well as fears of a worldwide shortage of carbon

Leading Edge
A major development in rope design could give better grip to modern high-performance ropes and prevent slipping

Yachts
Carbon-built IRC raceboats from Rogers Yacht Design; the schooner rig returns with a 58ft design from Ed Burnett; a good-looking 46ft lift-keel cruiser from Holland and a repackaged Reflex 38

On Test: Oyster 72 and 46
With their G5, the fifth generation, series of yachts, Oyster have introduced new technology, design
and working practices across their range. We look
at the two models that started the trend, a high-performance 72 and the baby of the fleet, the 46

Eye opener
Wipe-outs, blow-outs and eye-watering speeds made for a dramatic first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. Matthew Sheahan talks to the shell-shocked crews in Cape Town and asks how they feel about the next leg

Race Against Time
It was just under a year ago that Ellen MacArthur posted her record time for a solo circumnavigation. Read our extracts from her new book for the story told in her own words, from e-mails and video diaries

A tale of two ARCs
Was the 2005 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers a slow light-airs event or a ferocious upwind slog? It depends who you speak to and which route they took, explains Elaine Bunting

One of the crowd
Flotilla sailing is alive and well in the Ionian.
David Glenn enjoys a new-style Sunsail charter and discovers it is not a case of following like sheep – unlike the early days . . .

Follow my leader
. . . when the idea of cheap packaged sailing holidays was created by Eric Richardson, who has some hairy stories to tell of the first few flotilla holidays

Wally move into top gear
Is it a boat? Is it a plane? Is it a supercar? Wally’s latest 94-footer, Open Season, is owned by the man in charge of Bugatti Automobiles and bears more than a passing resemblance to his high-performance Bugatti Veyron 16.4

Cruising
Sea change in cruising – the ARC evolves over two decades; Azores legend Peter Azevedo dies; inspirational Hilary receives award; a SAR aircraft excursion; and German authorities see red over red diesel

Great Seamanship
Lord of the ice. Pioneer of Arctic yachting Lord Dufferin, his sturdy crew and long-suffering valet met horizon to horizon ice trying to reach Spitsbergen in the schooner Foam in 1856

Racing
Dumbing down Olympic sailing? New rules for Olympic competition, designed to make sailing more media-friendly, are kicking up a storm among competitors. Plus: the return of the Solent series and ‘fat heads’ for all

Inside Alinghi
News from the Defender’s camp reveals that Alinghi are in their new Valencia base, match racing teams arrive from Switzerland and the team go on a US tour

SuperSail
France homes in on the lucrative refit market with a number of new facilities; Philippe Briand draws a 180ft motor yacht; and Peter Sampson is turning heads with two new designs

Yachts for sale

Classified ads

Last Word
Top French ORMA 60 trimaran sailor Franck Cammas talks to Andrew Preece about his sailing ambitions