Reigning Volvo Ocean Race race winner Ian Walker, who skippered Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing to win the 2014-15 race, analyses the form guide to see who’s in the running for…
Yachting World
The amazing voyage of Laura Dekker, the 15-year-old who sailed round the world alone
In 2009, the English sailing community was galvanised by the arrival on the East Coast of a 14-year-old single-hander from Holland, writes Tom Cunliffe. This was Laura Dekker, skippering a…
How to cope with stormy weather by top French sailor Loick Peyron
Weather like this during the Sydney-Hobart is not a surprise for the guys who start the race. They know what to expect, and how rough it can become in the…
Sail across the Atlantic safely – how to avoid the most common gear failures
Does wind matter? It might seem an off-hand remark perhaps when it comes to breakages; of course, when the tradewinds are strong we must expect to break more gear, but…
Does a professional skipper ever outrank his or her yacht’s owner?
Having been a skipper of other people’s yachts in my former life and, for almost three decades now, a ‘poor bloody owner’ – most of the time employing skippers –…
Dee Caffari on the Volvo Race: “I can barely get my head around the enormity of the challenge”
They say you should be careful what you wish for but nothing could be further from the truth. I am delighted to have been named skipper of team Turn the…
Dee Caffari: Professional female sailors and role models needed to inspire young competitors
Seeing Tracy Edwards reunited with her Whitbread Round the World yacht Maiden, which she raced with an all-women crew in 1989, stirred some memories. The yacht has come full circle…
Facnor FD190 flat deck furler
Although not a new product, this webbing line furler is rarely seen outside of French performance cruising yachts, writes Rupert Holmes. It’s a great option for anyone who wants to maximise…
Beach rescue – Skip Novak aids lone yachtsman recovering yacht from remote shore
It is rare to leave the Antarctic Peninsula earlier than need be. No matter how much time you allow for a cruise in that splendid and awe-inspiring environment it is…
Wind chill explained – how exactly does the wind make you feel colder?
Meteorologically spring is an interesting time of year as the weather can be quite volatile, particularly the sunshine and showers we associate with April and the squalls they bring (although…
Happy crew, happy boat – how to avoid crew problems and a bad atmosphere on board
Boat crews fall apart – it happens from time to time – but in Rodney Bay, St Lucia, at the end of the annual Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), the…
Summer sailing in high latitudes is no guarantee of good weather – sometimes winter is better
Although we are in the business of providing uncertainty as one of the mainstays of the Pelagic experience, there are times when you do feel your head banging against a…
Mike Peyton on learning to sail – an extract from his autobiography, Quality Time
Not many readers of Yachting World will have failed to come across the cartoons of Mike Peyton. Whatever branch of yachting is our choice, Mike caught us to a tee.…
“What the hell were we doing in this situation?” The true story of the Mutiny recreation for UK television
We staggered up the beach in a remote part of Timor, our weary legs gave way as each of us collapsed onto the pebbly shoreline. Tears of relief ran down…
Uphill all the way – reliving a leg of the BT Challenge across the Southern Ocean against the prevailing winds
Most accounts of grim conditions in the Southern Ocean are written by skippers of race boats or owners of smaller yachts engaged in high adventure, writes Tom Cunliffe. Uphill all…
Arkema 3 – the innovative foiling Mini 6.50 aiming to win the 2017 Mini Transat race
Looking at the armoury of innovations incorporated in the Arkema 3 Mini it appears to be an all-out effort to blast every other Mini out of the water, pushing new…
Conrad Colman’s Vendee Globe story in his own words – “I gave this race my all”
Carbon fibre race yachts are noisy beasts. Sharp creaks from the sheets in the cockpit, constant thumping bass notes from the hull slamming against the oncoming waves and the staccato…
Racing on Eleonora in the Caribbean 600 – a dream course for a giant classic schooner
One of the great wonders of sailing is that, no matter how wide our experience or how long we’ve been at sea, none of us has seen it all. Take…
Time for Ainslie to get angry? What will it take for Land Rover BAR to beat Emirates Team New Zealand
Ben Ainslie is not averse to controversy. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to suggest he thrives on it. Where most sailors perform less well when they lose…
Faeroes to Norway in a Wayfarer dinghy – Frank Dye’s extraordinary tale of sea survival
When I was a student in Liverpool in the mid-1960s, sailing the university’s Firefly dinghies when I ought to have been studying, the local hero was a young man called…