Although we often hear about the expected changes to the weather from the El Niño/La Niña Southern Oscillation (ENSO) it does not have a large effect on the weather in…
Yachting World
Rammed by a trawler off the coast of Brittany: “There was no-one at the wheel”
The 90-ton ketch Johanne was launched in 1929 as a Baltic trader, writes Tom Cunliffe. Bought out of Denmark in the late 1960s, she sailed to Lymington on the west…
Solo sailor Paul Heiney describes battling gale force winds off the Azores
I was 150 miles south-west of the Azores, heading for home, and it was blowing up rough from ahead. I lit the gas, and thought things through. The kettle was…
Expert tips on understanding shipping forecasts and weather broadcasts
When ashore we get our forecasts from a variety of sources, nowadays largely through the internet. However, unless we have the long-range communications of a bluewater cruiser, once our link…
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston refits his famous yacht Suhaili
In 1968, on 14 June at 1420, a 32ft ketch called Suhaili, with Robin Knox-Johnston at the tiller, crossed a start line off Falmouth. Few saw them off, and fewer…
Elliot Brown Bloxworth watch
Tough and rugged but finely crafted and cleverly designed, the Elliot Brown Bloxworth watch was put through its paces by Rob Owen.
Musto midlayer Gore-tex blouson
We asked the Adventure sailing skippers at Rubicon3 to try the Musto midlayer Gore-tex blouson jacket on both land and sea.
Helly Hansen Crew midlayer jacket
We asked the Adventure sailing skippers at Rubicon3 to try the Helly Hansen Crew mid-layer jacket on both land and sea.
Slam flying jacket
This jacket is a good all-rounder, being both functional on the water and smart enough to wear on shore. It has a warm fleece lining with an elasticated waistband for…
Henri Lloyd Elite Therm mid-layer jacket
There’s no attempt at compromise here, this jacket is a proper mid-layer jacket. Designed to be worn under foulies, the Primaloft filling is superbly warm in cold conditions and the…
Gill Extreme winter sailing gloves
Adventure charter skippers Bruce Jacobs and Rachael Sprot of Rubicon3 tested the Gill Extreme gloves, which feature 1.5mm neoprene with good grip and insulation, for a season in a variety…
Musto Performance Winter sailing gloves
Tough palms; cold finger tips
Telemedicine for cruisers beyond the reach of an airlift – how a phone call saved one sailor’s life
Anchored in a remote lagoon in the Solomon Islands last year, Tom Partridge and his partner Susie Plume were into the third year of a circumnavigation on their Hylas 46…
The America’s Cup defender has given away much of its historic advantage, but can anyone beat Oracle?
One of the unwritten rules of the America’s Cup is that every decision the defender makes must be in the interests of self-interest. What sets the Cup apart from every…
How author Martin O’Scannall removed the engine from his yacht and learned to listen to the sea
For the Love of Sauntress – A Forty-year Affair published as recently as 2014 by the ever-creative Lodestar Books tells the story of Martin O’Scannall’s life with a notably beautiful…
The slingshot – mastering this high-speed racing manoeuvre is not just for the professionals
This particular part of the course, coming into Mark 1 on a reach on an AC45, is always one of the most physically demanding and most dangerous parts of the…
Is it still possible to sail off into the sunset and find somewhere truly remote from civilisation?
How rare it is, to be left to your own devices on a wild island. From the tropics to the high latitudes, more often than not when you think you…
Aboard CQS – video tour of the 12-year-old supermaxi that became a cutting edge DSS foiler
CQS (formerly the 90-footer Nicorette) is something of a ‘back to the future’ hybrid in the supermaxi world, sporting cutting-edge foil technology – untested on this scale of yacht to…
Optimised to win: how Peter Morton’s Carkeek 40 Girls on Film won the highly competitive Fast 40+ class
The Carkeek 40 is a proven design that originally dates from 2012. Girls on Film, winner of four of the five class events this year to take the overall Fast40+…
Skip Novak: cruising is being taken over by permits and paperwork
How rare it is, to be left to your own devices on a wild island. From the tropics to the high latitudes, more often than not when you think you…