The 45ft foiling cat named ‘T2’ is the team’s latest boat to be launched and is a more powerful and sophisticated version of the AC45f cats that are used in…
Look no hands! – Assisted Sail Trim from Jeanneau and Harken for driverless sailing?
Is the new Assisted Sail Trim (AST) program from Jeanneau and Harken sailing’s equivalent to Google’s driverless car? In essence, the system means all sail handling can be controlled from…
IDEC chases Jules Verne record pace and sets new record in the process
To date Francis Joyon’s crew aboard IDEC Sport has trailed Yann Guichard & Donna Bertarelli’s team aboard Spindrift 2, (formerly Banque Populaire), but by staying south and keeping a straighter…
Skip Novak: why I consider someone calling my yacht ‘well-used’ a compliment
When superyachts began coming to Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Peninsula in the mid-1990s, I gave some professional advice and provided a pilot to a well-known German owner of…
ARC weather man Chris Tibbs prepares his boat for ocean cruising
When we bought our Wauquiez Centurion 40s, Taistealai, for ocean cruising, starting with the ARC this year, we had a number of criteria in mind, but first and foremost we…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 5: Helming skills
When you’re sailing upwind in a monohull, the key is to minimise helm movement to tiny corrections and keep a steady heel angle. If the telltales are flying and the…
Silver Rudder race – the solo challenge for Danish Ironmen
‘If you want to feel real bliss, you have to experience real pain as well,’ so the saying goes. The thought seemed empty and stupid as I tried one more…
ARC crew is rescued by a cargo ship within hours of their yacht sinking
Four crew taking part in the ARC transatlantic rally were rescued a matter of hours before their yacht sank last week. Skipper Steve Arnold and his crew were doing the…
Round the world record crews face dangers of ice in the Southern Ocean
Just two weeks after starting off Brest, the crew of maxi trimaran Spindrift is in the Southern Ocean and dodging ice on their attempt to break the non-stop round the…
Ocean Cruising Club mourns Mary Barton, one of ocean sailing’s leading figures
Mary Barton, Admiral of the Ocean Cruising Club, died on 1 December, a few days before her 95th birthday. Mary was an intrinsic part of the club since its earliest days.…
Skip Novak: Should I be contributing to a cruising guide to Antarctica?
There is a plan afoot for a cruising guide to Antarctica. I know this as I was asked to contribute to it. At risk of alienating a large part of…
The Berthon Christmas Quiz
We’re running a Christmas quiz and would like to invite you to win some great prizes, whilst learning more about the Berthon business at the same time. If you can…
Video: On test, the M32 cat and why you should try one
While America’s Cup foiling cats look spectacular and turn plenty of heads, the rate at which the demands of the new technology has been accelerating is leaving many of us…
Truly a classic – the 127ft Atalante from André Hoek is a head-turner
It was a certain kind of look. It happened as we sailed back towards Antibes over azure waters, carried along under a cutter rig in idyllic afternoon conditions. We pointed…
Franck Cammas is recovering and “will not lose the use of his right foot”
French sailor Franck Cammas, who suffered a serious leg injury on Monday after falling overboard from a GC32 catamaran and being hit by the rudder, has been operated on and…
Nine Js and counting: J Class Svea J-S1 is sold and under construction at Vitters
Vitters Shipyard has announced that it is fitting out its first J Class yacht. The brand new 43.60m aluminum hull of the J Class Svea is the longest of the…
Yours for €2.75 million – Mariquita, the elegant and glamorous 125ft Fife design
Not very often does a yacht come on the market that has such a storied history behind her. Marquita, the glorious Fife design, one of the most elegant yachts in…
Upgrade your electronics
It's time to upgrade your electronics
America’s Cup skipper Franck Cammas airlifted with serious leg injury after foiling catamaran accident
French America’s Cup skipper Franck Cammas has been seriously injured in an accident while training aboard a foiling GC32 catmaran. According to French newspaper Le Télégramme, he suffered an open fracture at…
5 tips: the heavy weather gybe – how to deal with that trickiest of manoeuvres
With your heart rate rising like a jockey heading towards Becher’s Brook in the Grand National, your gaze is fixed on the gybe mark that’s getting ever closer. You may…