Should you consider support from a professional weather router on your next ocean crossing? With costs lower than you might realise, maybe it’s time you should. Employing the services of an…
Helen Fretter
Editor
Roast dinner round the Rock: onboard the iconic Sparkman & Stephens design Kialoa II
Without question one of the yachts that attracted the most lingering glances on the busy pontoons of Plymouth Yacht Haven at the Rolex Fastnet Race village last week was Kialoa…
Surviving the OSTAR’s perfect storm – the full story of the racers rescued in Force 11 summer gale
Solo sailor Mervyn Wheatley set out from Plymouth for Newport, Rhode Island on 29 May this year with stirring tunes belting out from his beloved Tamarind, the Formosa 42 that…
Ocean racing icons and tales from the deep: first Fastnet finishers
The beer tent remained (nearly) empty in the Rolex Fastnet Race village for most of today, because the biggest contingent of finishers, the seven Volvo Ocean 65 crews, all arrived…
Prosecution seeks retrial for Cheeki Rafiki manslaughter
After a complex six-week trial, Stormforce Coaching boss Douglas Innes was found guilty of failing to ensure the safety of the yacht Cheeki Rafiki, which capsized mid-Atlantic in 2014, with…
Balmain Bug: the classic skiff that’s too much sail and not enough boat
The Balmain Bug is a 1.83m (6ft) Australian skiff class dinghy, of which just two remain in existence. First raced in 1899 at Balmain in Sydney, the fleet expanded throughout…
Cheeki Rafiki verdict: operator found guilty of failing to ensure yacht’s safety
Douglas Innes has been found guilty of failing to ensure the safety of the yacht Cheeki Rafiki, which capsized mid-Atlantic in 2014, with the deaths of four men. Innes, the…
Cheeki Rafiki jury retires to consider its verdict in manslaughter trial
The jury in the trial of Douglas Innes and Stormforce Coaching, operators of the yacht Cheeki Rafiki that capsized mid-Atlantic in 2014 leading to the loss of four crew members,…
Final evidence heard in Cheeki Rafiki manslaughter by gross negligence trial
The final witnesses appeared yesterday at Winchester Crown Court in the trial relating to the loss of four sailors from the yacht Cheeki Rafiki in May 2014. James Male, Andrew…
Blitzen – the 1938 Olin Stephens design that was the grand prix boat of the day
Olin Stephens was just 30 years old when Blitzen was launched in 1938, following in the wake of the prodigiously talented designer’s yachts such as Dorade (1929) and Stormy Weather…
VIDEO: Volvo Ocean Race makes radical route changes with new foiling 60-footers
Volvo Ocean Race organisers promised the most radical shake-up of the race since its inception in 1973, and the raft of changes announced today for the 2019 edition will bring…
Could a floating shipping container sink your yacht? How real is the danger?
It is the stuff of every sailor’s nightmare – the unseen object, lurking beneath a wave, which punctures your hull or smashes your rudder mid-ocean. Never have our oceans seemed…
Endurance athletes – the making of the modern America’s Cup sailor
The shape of the six men competing on each challenger has changed – literally. Two factors have altered the make-up of America’s Cup teams beyond all recognition: the move to…
VIDEO: How to win in the bareboat fleet at Antigua Sailing Week
Anyone who thinks that the bareboat fleet at a Caribbean regatta is an easy option is in for a rude surprise. Turn up for a bareboat race charter and chances…
VIDEO Onboard Sojana: racing a 115ft ketch with an all-star crew in Antigua
Sojana, the 115ft Farr-designed ketch belonging to businessman and philanthropist Sir Peter Harrison, is the largest yacht competing at Antigua Sailing Week 2017. The event, which celebrates its 50th anniversary…
Perini Navi superyacht Rosehearty takes on the North West Passage
“The owner has always had an interest in history, especially the North West Passage – one of his big heroes was Shackleton, and this had been discussed and planned for…
Rogue waves – real-life stories of the destructive power of the sea
Rogue waves have long divided sailors and scientists. Some question their existence, other schools of thought suggest that ‘freak’ waves are actually more common than first thought. But for those…
Fourth Volvo Ocean Race entry announced as Vestas return
Vestas, the Danish wind energy company, is returning to the Volvo Ocean Race for 2017/18 with a new team led by American duo Charlie Enright and Mark Towill. Partnering with…
How Thomas Coville set the solo round the world sailing record
‘A warrior,’ is how Samantha Davies, part of the intelligence team that guided Thomas Coville and his yacht Sodebo to victory, describes the solo skipper. Over a decade Coville returned…
The world’s biggest yachts – what’s behind the growth of the gigayacht
Dwarfing not only any other yacht that happened to be on the River Eider, but even the buildings along the foreshore, the monolithic Sailing Yacht A made quite an impression…