Big names may draw the crowds to the red carpets, but they don’t always guarantee success. The fact that Italian style icon Brenta Design is behind this new carbon cruiser,…
Toby Hodges
Video – Australian skipper surfs a 46ft catamaran on a huge wave to make it into port
This incredible catamaran surfing video shows the moment Australian skipper Ian Sloan decides to take on the notorious waves of Australia’s Gold Coast to try to make it into harbour.…
Waterproof your mobile: we test new coatings based on nanotechnology
Like it or not, the use of mobile devices in cockpits is commonplace today, yet our prized smartphones and tablets are very vulnerable to water damage. It’s reportedly the number…
Is sailing in Colombia a viable option? Toby Hodges meets the World ARC in Santa Marta
Colombia has an air of mystique about it. Of all the places I’ve been lucky enough to visit, sailing in Colombia certainly aroused the most interest among family, friends and…
Astra Esa smartwatch, a wrist-mounted watch/smartphone/display for those on the move
This is the first smartwatch I have seen that is designed for sailing – and it’s as neat to use as it looks, fusing the sailor’s thirst for gadgetry with…
CNB 76 boat test – more boat for your money
It may sound daunting, but it seems 60ft is no longer a big boat. In typical Philippe Briand fashion the CNB 76 oozes style and elegance – a powerful hull…
Advanced Yachts 44 boat test – bonkers, but in a good way
This brave, brazen, brawny example of modern design is arguably the most contemporary monohull of 2014. How the Advanced Yachts 44 looks, how she feels and, crucially, how she makes her…
Wauquiez Centurion 57 boat test – a cruiser at heart
Nowhere is the north/south European divide more evident than in cruising yacht design. The cold North Sea and Baltic types tend to favour function first. For us it’s all about…
Italia 15.98 boat test – a cool performer
From supercars and pointy shoes to novel pasta shapes, Italian design is lauded the world over. But it can lack practicality – there’s no room for the kids in a…
Broadblue Rapier 550 boat test – Are you ready for a 54ft catamaran that steers like a car?
Marty McFly, Michael J Fox’s lead character in the 1980s film Back to the Future, breaks into a wild electric guitar solo while playing a Chuck Berry number during a…
Rustler 37 boat test – Just your cup of tea?
They say the key to the perfect cup of tea is to use a good old-fashioned teapot. It brews the leaves properly and provides an altogether different tasting cuppa, more…
Watch the world’s first foiling cruiser take flight at 30 knots: first video of Gunboat’s G4
Hats off to Gunboat. The company that put the cool into cruising cats has done it again by producing the world’s first foiling ‘cruising’ yacht. And it seems the G4…
Pogo 30 on test – pocket performer with cruising aspirations
Let me come clean: the Pogo 30 is the most enjoyable boat I have ever sailed. I’ve certainly never returned from a boat test so excited or pumped before. Nor…
Video: Why choose custom? We sail this bespoke French 60 footer to find out
Individuality is to be cherished. Without personal taste we’d all be living in similar-style houses, wearing the same clothes, driving the same cars and be attracted to the same people.…
New wave of Brit solo sailors launch assault on French solo Figaro circuit
Over the last five years there has been a concerted push by the British to break the French stronghold of solo sailing thanks to the Artemis Offshore Academy. Here the…
Spinlock Deckvest LITE
The Spinlock Deckvest LITE is one of the best lifejackets I have used, principally because it feels the least cumbersome. I am not going to argue that it’s the best…
B&G H5000 review – instrument package for all sailors
B&G is the only company that currently produces a range of instruments specifically designed for sailing. It became clear during two days trialling its new equipment aboard three yachts in…
Ocean Signal’s new AIS alarm for man overboard is the most compact on the market
As smartphones bizarrely continue to get larger, to the point where today’s ‘phablets’ are almost too big to fit in a trouser pocket without attracting attention, the majority of us…
First video of the stunning new Hoek designed 52m Royal Huisman ketch Elfje
There have been a couple of standout plumb bow superyacht ketches launched in recent years, namely the Dykstra designed Hetairos and Kamaxitha. This latest model from Hoek Design called Elfje,…
Contemporary-looking Solaris 50 designed for short-handed global cruising
This new 50-footer follows the fiendishly cool Solaris 58, which launched in early 2014 – including the pièce-de-resistance dreadnought bow and subtle aft chines. But, at nearly half the price…