What downwind sails should you buy for an Atlantic crossing or cruising beyond the Caribbean? This is one of the biggest questions skippers face when equipping a yacht for bluewater…
Elaine Bunting
Cowes Week on the hunt for new sponsor as Aberdeen Asset Management prepares to bow out
After some of the most diverse racing in its 180-year history, Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week finishes this weekend facing another chapter of change and the search for a new backer…
Oyster Yacht sank and five crew rescued after ‘incident that compromised hull integrity’
An Oyster yacht that sank off the coast of Spain in July may have foundered following a hull failure. Polina Star III was a 90ft extended version of the Oyster 825.…
Team SCA navigator Libby Greenhalgh wins Ladies Day Trophy at Cowes Week 2015
Leading weather forecaster and racing sailor Libby Greenhalgh was awarded the Ladies Day Trophy yesterday at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week. The annual award, a highlight of Liz Earle Ladies Day,…
Video: an introduction to the week’s racing at Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week 2015
This year sees the 180th annual Cowes Week regatta and, with over 800 yachts taking part, is growing again to justify its place as one of the greatest of British summer…
Video: Hunting the wreck of the SS Varvassi off the Needles on the Isle of Wight
How many people can stand on the wreck of the SS Varvassi? This great little video might just show a bizarre new record as a group of people decide to stand…
Why paper charts still have a place alongside iPad and electronic navigation
When you open up any electronic navigation program you usually see a disclaimer telling you not to rely on its accuracy. ‘All charts and maps are for reference purpose only.…
Portsmouth is putting on a brilliant dress rehearsal for ‘bringing the America’s Cup home’
How would it feel if Sir Ben Ainslie were to succeed in his grand ambition to ‘bring the Cup home’? The America’s Cup World Series Portsmouth answered that today. It…
Musto Women’s Evolution Primaloft Jacket
This is my new favourite mid-layer jacket. The Musto Women’s Evolution Primaloft Jacket is warm, but incredibly light. It is filled with PrimaLoft, a patented synthetic microfibre that has almost magic…
Nautor announces a new Swan 54, a purebred bluewater quality cruiser
One of yachting’s most prestigious and long-running brands, Nautor’s Swan, has announced a new yacht and the new Swan 54 is significant in being at the smaller end of the…
Wearing a lifejacket or not is a judgement call. We are being brainwashed, argues Skip Novak
I first realised there was something amiss when several years ago on a visit to the Hamble River during a dead calm weekend afternoon. I noticed that everyone on every…
Gallery: perfect racing conditions for spectacular Superyacht Cup fleet
A building sea breeze gave the 21-strong fleet of yachts in the annual Superyacht Cup perfect racing conditions today in Palma. The race today was over a 25-mile course and…
New J Class yacht named Topaz is launched – and the design team says she is “absolutely stunning”
The latest J Class yacht, named Topaz, was launched from Holland Jachtbouw in June, bringing the total number of Js on the water to eight. From an unbuilt 1935 design…
Grand Soleil LC46: a boat that abounds with clever touches
Grand Soleil has come up with something really different in its new Grand Soleil LC46. After the company was bought last year by the Italian Sly Yachts group, it has…
Guest blog: Ready for our long voyage to Thailand on Whitbread classic Swan 65 King’s Legend
This is my home for the next eight to nine months. It is still hard to believe, even though I have arrived so many times before and I have left…
Perini Navi’s new 60m sloop Perseus^3 boasts the world’s largest single sail
Perseus^3 is the second in Perini Navi’s new 60m series, launched earlier this year and in Palma for her first regatta and she is likely to turn heads, if only…
Discovery 58: a cruising thoroughbred from a thoroughly British yard
This is the British yard’s newest thoroughbred cruiser, a development of the Discovery 57 with a more modern coachroof profile. The Discovery 58 looks every inch as competent a world-girdler…
J Class yacht J9 is ready to build – and may be “the fastest and finest yet”
As the J Class gears up for a showcase regatta that will form part of the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda in 2017, the fleet is growing. The J Class J8, from…
Gallery: the rooms, art and antiques of the Royal Yacht Squadron
The Royal Yacht Squadron is one of the most exclusive yacht clubs in the world. Don’t ask to join; you have to be invited. It doesn’t have a clubhouse; it…
What’s the right yacht for an Atlantic crossing? The one you’ve got now
Numerically, the most common yachts for sailing across the Atlantic are ordinary production cruisers with standard kit, usually with upgrades of safety and power generation equipment. The happy truth is…