EPIRBs When activated, an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) transmits its details on 406MHZ and, if GPS-enabled, the vessel’s position to within 100m. This signal is relayed by satellite…
Belinda Bird
Skip Novak goes sailing to climb mountains – in the wake of Tilman
I have always thought that voyaging under sail is more gratifying when it has an underlying purpose. Floating about somewhat ad hoc across oceans from one paradise to the next…
Helly Hansen Crew H2Flow Jacket
Cut the fat to bare operating efficiency – that’s the motto of today, in business, lifestyle or sport. We are all increasingly overworked and need to streamline wherever possible. The…
Karver KJ3 Cam cleat
Today’s streamlined and efficient deck layouts use purchase systems led to cam cleats for a number of functions that a decade ago would have been more likely to be led…
Get out of that! – Ian Walker on avoiding the crash gybe
On the edge and living dangerously, the crew in this photo are, to their credit, still racing hard and just about in control, managing to hold off a crash gybe.…
5 tips: pre-season troubleshooting – key problems with deck gear the experts see regularly
You may have stepped off the boat at the end of the autumn series with a mental list of items that needed attending to over the winter, but how many…
High adventure in Iceland on board an expedition yacht
Cold. We came to Iceland expecting it and the passage to Grimsey Island didn’t disappoint. For eight hours Hummingbird beat into a bitter northerly beneath a sky like a dishrag.…
Catamaran Sailing Techniques Part 7: should the worst happen – with Nigel Irens
Different strategies for keeping a catamaran safe from the risk of capsize have been discussed in other features in this series, but we do need to look more closely at…
5 tips: getting a good start – and the 60 seconds after that
The subtleties of a good start are more complicated than identifying a good spot to leeward and starting next to someone who is going to give space and be happy…
C&C 30 – blistering performance in a manageable package
Today, going like the clappers downwind is easy; anyone can do it. But there are two basic approaches: there is eye-watering, fixed-grin, backside-twitchingly quick, with the boat balanced on a…
An Arctic delivery from north-west Greenland to France provides a chilling tale
Sailing in the Arctic is just about as crazy as it sounds. It is bone-chillingly cold and sailing in the snow is commonplace. There is the constant threat of hitting…
Three fast cruisers from France: the Pogo 36 and two from Django
If you are looking for a cruising yacht that will rapidly take you to far away places in a safe and reliable manner, it would make sense to consider the…
5 tips: the dip and the squeeze – techniques to get you away from the start fast
Even if you get clear air off the start line it’s likely there will be other boats close by on either side and the one to leeward might already be…
Henri-Lloyd Halcon jacket
Elaine is not the only one to fall for a packaway-style jacket (see her review of the Musto Women’s Evolution Primaloft Jacket). The Henri-Lloyd Halcon jacket became an instant favourite and…
5 tips: surfing. How to use the waves to improve your downwind performance
Gone are the days of sitting back on the downwind legs to enjoy the view. Powerful modern cruiser-racers respond much more like dinghies and need the constant application of subtle…
Connect on board by wi-fi with Red Box from Mailasail
Wherever we go now we expect to be able to get online – indeed many even depend on it. Being afloat is no exception. The proportion of skippers, crew and…
Cheating at yacht racing – how honest a sailor are you?
In football a dive in the penalty area in search of an easy goal is a regular occurrence – though the risk of a red card may act as a…
Fareast 28R: a new sub-30ft sportsboat with an impressive price tag
Just over a year ago a little-known Chinese yard, the Shanghai Fareast Boats Co, made a big impression at the Düsseldorf boat show with a rocket red, all-carbon, downwind master-blaster.…
5 tips: the bear away, where bigs gains can be made and mistakes are costly
Mark roundings are often where big gains can be made and where mistakes can be costly. Nowhere is this more apparent than at the first weather mark where the fleet…
The best route for an Atlantic crossing? It depends when you go
Weather is a large part of any Atlantic crossing: deciding when to go, which route to follow and the sails to carry. The main consideration is to avoid the hurricane…