Bridging the gap between dinghies and keel boats has always been tricky. What’s good for those used to hiking with their well trained quads, honed stomach muscles and a backsides…
5 tips: bowman signals. Get a great start with clear signs to helmsman and trimmers
Five seconds to the start and the row of bows is accelerating towards the line. A boat to windward is early and obscuring your view of the start boat. The…
Shipping containers lost at sea: how much of a danger are they to sailing yachts?
When you are offshore and looking at empty water stretching all around, the odds of running into something barely visible seem very slim. Yet the hazard is common enough to…
Recommissioning: how to prepare your yacht to sail away after laying up
If you are leaving your boat for a period of time it may work out well to leave a job list with the yard or associated workmen, so inquire about…
What is it really like to race onboard a J Class yacht?
Photographs were what made the J Class famous. The camera has always loved their sweeping lines and frozen the elegance of racing in an instant of silent beauty. But for…
Inside J class yacht Hanuman
For Hanuman’s interior, Jim Clark stayed loyal to the designer behind Hyperion and Athena, Pieter Beeldsnijder. His style has been particularly successful aboard this yacht – intricate carvings of the…
Velsheda JK7
VELSHEDA JK7 Designed by: Charles Nicholson, reconfigured in 1996 by Gerard Dykstra Build: Camper & Nicholsons in 1933 Identifying features: Dark blue hull; classic deck features including double doghouse; blue,…
Ranger J5 – the first completely new J Class yacht
RANGER J5 Designed by Starling Burgess and Olin Stephens. Re-worked by Studio Scanu, Reichel-Pugh, and Fred Elliott Build: Danish Yacht Boatyard in 2002/3 Identifying features: White hull, barrel bow Odds:…
Hanuman JK6
J class yacht Hanuman is the modern interpretation of Sir Tommy Sopwith’s 1936 J Class Endeavour II. Named after a Hindu monkey god descended from the wind god Pavana, this…
J Class yacht Rainbow J/H2 – the Dutch destroyer
Replica of original Rainbow, designed by Starling Burgess in 1931 and hastily revisited for the 1934 America’s Cup Defence. Rainbow beat Endeavour, although she was acknowledged to be slower. Redesigned…
J Class yacht Lionheart J/H1 – replica of an original that was never built
Replica of an original design by Burgess/Stephens in 1936, reconfigured by André Hoek. Built by Freddie Bloemsma and Claassen Jachtbouw, launched 2010 Identifying features: Black hull like Rainbow, but squared…
Endeavour JK4
Endeavour JK4 (original) Designed by: C.E. Nicholson, re-configured by Dykstra & Partners Build: Camper & Nicholsons, in steel, in 1934. Skipper: Simon Lacey Identifying features: Navy blue hull, Breton-striped crew…
Generating power on board: we ask 250 skippers crossing the Atlantic for their views on this evergreen topic
We first started our ARC equipment survey 14 years ago and have been collecting data annually on the types of gear yachts carry and how skippers rate it. It’s the…
Mayday! What happens in the 12 minutes (tops) it takes an RNLI lifeboat crew to respond to a rescue
How long would it take you to roll out of bed, dress and get out of the front door if you had to leave home in a hurry at night?…
World Cruising Club hosts weekend seminar for those looking to sail offshore
If you have ever harboured thoughts of taking your boat on a round-the world trip, then a seminar hosted by the World Cruising Club could be just the ticket. The…
Alan Buchanan, naval architect 1922 – 2015
Alan Buchanan, the celebrated naval archictect credited with designing the first glassfibre yacht in Europe, died peacefully in Jersey on Monday 26 January. Having trained as an aircraft engineer, he…
Volvo Ocean Race: Breaking a winning formula? Dongfeng navigator sits out Leg 4
to leave Dongfeng’s star navigator Pascal Bidégorry on the dock will surely raise a few eyebrows.
How to lay up a yacht abroad: cruisers find they can fly home and still save money
A high percentage of cruisers we meet plan to lay up a yacht in a safe place to fly home, often once a year. Since international air travel has never…
Southern Ocean storms are some of the most brutal forces in nature. Here is how sailors try to harness them
Solo sailors call it ‘the South’, as if to emphasise its alien difference. The Southern Ocean is a place most of us have never been to and never wish to…
VIDEO: How the biggest change in the Volvo Ocean Race has happened ashore Matthew Sheahan reports
This time around as crews tie up after finishing a leg they might as well be leaving their 65 footers on Volvo’s park and valet pontoon. As the sailing team…