Thirty years ago last August the maxi Drum capsized in the Fastnet Race with 24 crew aboard. The keel had fallen off near Dodman Point in Cornwall, which was dramatic…
Volvo Race winner Ian Walker awarded Yachtsman of the Year trophy
Volvo Ocean Race winner Ian Walker was today awarded the boats.com/Yachting Journalists’ Association Yachtsman of the Year Award. Dubbed ‘the knighthood of sailing’ the award, whose previous winners include such…
Catamaran Sailing Techniques Part 4: Sailing a cat upwind – with Nigel Irens
If you were a visitor to Earth and found yourself sailing a run-of-the-mill cruising catamaran for the first time it would be easy to conclude that sailing upwind is not…
Tested: AIS MOB devices – help your crew to save your life if you should go overboard
In a safety briefing for the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race, a French search and rescue pilot told us just how hard it is for a spotter plane to see…
Entry list for the 2016 RORC Caribbean 600
See the full entry list here: RORC Caribbean 600 Entry list PDF The RORC Caribbean 600 is a 600nm offshore race around the leeward islands, starting and finishing in Antigua.…
Raymarine Quantum unveiled – a lightweight solid-state radar with class-leading range and efficiency
Chirp technology is used increasingly by marine manufacturers in echosounders to increase target resolution when fishfinding. The same benefits are applied to marine radar with the launch of the Raymarine…
M32 catamaran – a high-speed cat for the World Match Racing Tour
America’s Cup foiling cats look spectacular and turn plenty of heads, but the rate at which the demands of the new technology have been accelerating is leaving many of us…
Past Winners of the RORC Caribbean 600
We take a look at previous winners of the RORC Caribbean 600 Trophy. It’s given to the yacht who has the best corrected time under IRC. 2015 – Hap Fauth,…
5 tips on how to recover from a wipeout
To keep a boat going on a gusty reach with kite and rudder on the edge and every gram of crew weight on the windward rail can be a nail-biting…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 4: Upwind trim
Sailing to windward on a badly trimmed boat seems like punishment. We have all felt that jarring crash when the boat falls off a wave, or wondered whether we might…
Google Earth navigation: how to sail off the chart with confidence using satellite imagery
Cruising in remote tropical regions can be challenging, especially where there are no charts suitable for pilotage. Often the charts that do exist are old and inaccurate. To make matters…
Guns on board yachts – are you for or against?
Should you carry a gun on board your boat, or are they more trouble than they're worth? Let us know what you think
On too long a lead: how your lifejacket harness could kill you
How the lifejacket/harness combination we rely on at sea could prove fatal
Take a tour of supermaxi Comanche, a yacht so beamy she’s called ‘the aircraft carrier’
“The design office were told specifically by me that if this boat wasn’t the worst rated boat in history they have failed,” Dr Jim Clark said about his new raceboat.…
Wild Oats XI retires with sail damage as brutal squalls hammer Rolex Sydney Hobart Race
Gale force southerly headwinds and rough seas have been pummelling the favourites for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2015 fleet and caused havoc among the leading super maxis. Eight times line…
Video: a little reminder of why we love sailing so much
Aren’t sailing and boats magic? The variety of the experience, from beautiful classic yachts and serene days of light winds to full-on heavy weather it encompasses every emotion. This video…
Video: amazing footage of desperate puppy rescued by yacht crew
Watch one very lucky labrador puppy lost overboard in the Gulf of Naples nearly a mile from shore being picked up by a yacht crew, dried off and cuddled. She was…
Video: how huge foils are revolutionising Vendée Globe round the world race yachts
Here’s a spectacular video of the new IMOCA 60 Safran, which French skipper Morgan Lagravière will be sailing alone round the world next November in the Vendee Globe 2016. It clearly shows…
Rudder failure – 1,500 miles to sail across the Atlantic without a rudder
Like most dinghy sailors, I used to have fun sailing my boat without a rudder. I learned a lot about the optimum set of the sails, heel and fore and…