Big beam seas can be the most challenging, unpleasant and dangerous of all conditions to sail in. Exposing the entire length of your vessel broadside to oncoming waves allows the…
Sailing Galicia: Exploring the enchanting rias of North-West Spain
Dreams of white sand beaches fringed weather with granite boulders warmed by the Galician sun finally took flight. We departed from Crookhaven in Ireland at the break of dawn with…
MOB retrieval gear: Jonbuoy vs Catch and Lift in head-to-head test
Jonbuoy Recovery Module The Jonbuoy is a well-respected piece of equipment. Many boat owners would have one on board, were it not for the upfront cost and annual servicing requirements.…
1979 Fastnet Race: A lucky escape – Sir Peter Johnson’s story
To start, it was hardly distinguishable from any Round the Island race. Our beat down the Solent among so many Ton Cup series yachts and sailing round the buoys in…
Wild anchoring: Pip Hare explains how to secure your boat in remote spots
The further off the beaten track I have ventured, the more my definition of an ‘ideal’ anchorage has changed. Sometimes, to gain access to the shore or to find refuge…
The adventures of Infinity: Sailing to Antarctica on a 120ft handmade ketch
“When I say ‘Jump!’ y’all say ‘How high?’. If y’all don’t want to say ‘How high?’ you can pack your bags,” demanded the owner of the superyacht I was aboard.…
Belinda: This refurbished 1980s quarter tonner is a real labour of love
Spending around 1,800 hours and the price of a new boat on revamping a 30-year-old 26ft keelboat might seem extraordinary, yet it’s par for the course for a quarter tonner.…
Frers design: The family dynasty behind some of the world’s most beautiful yachts
It was the economist J K Galbraith who said that there was “no absolute standard of beauty. That,” he added, “is precisely what makes its pursuit so interesting.” That interest…
Helming downwind: Pip Hare’s top tips on how to maximise your speed
For me, helming downwind, particularly in big breeze, is one of the absolute joys in this world. It is a skill that takes huge concentration and the ability to react…
Clearing customs: How to ensure smooth passage across national borders
We asked sailors who have cruised in areas including the Caribbean, the Red Sea and Pacific Islands how the reality matched up with the official customs and immigration processes. All…
Skippers’ tips: Bluewater sailing secrets of the million milers revealed
“The more I practice, the luckier I get,” the golfer Gary Player used to joke. This old saw became famous because it rang so true. The more you do something,…
Farewell Plymouth – Fastnet Race finish will move to France on 96th anniversary of historic event
This is the first time that the finish of the biennial 605-mile offshore from Cowes has ever changed. The new destination adds some 90 miles to the course distance. In…
Black Jack 100: On board the light airs supermaxi chasing Sydney Hobart glory
“I always told Peter you never want to buy a 100-footer and eventually he ignored me. But now we’re all pretty happy that we’re here!” The words of Mark Bradford,…
Navigation briefing: How to navigate with Google Earth
We have got used to chartplotters and GPS being very accurate; sometimes (I think) too accurate as we pass ever closer to obstructions, confident we’ll be safe because it shows…
Sailor’s essential guide to AIS: Everything you need to know
If I were to pick one development that has revolutionised my own sailing over the past 10 years it would undoubtedly be AIS. Not only has it brought an enhanced…
Road to the America’s Cup podcast episode 3: How the AC75’s soft wingsails work
It’s not a completely original idea – it has been tried in the past, but never with the resources that four big, well-funded America’s Cup teams can bring to the…
Enterprise: Is this restored 12 Metre the best yacht to never contest the America’s Cup?
Among the 21 elegant Twelves lining the docks at Rhode Island’s Fort Adams for this summer’s 12 Metre World Championship, sat a yacht that for many was a huge disappointment.…
Pete Goss transatlantic: Vendee Globe racer embraces life in the slow lane
Out of the blackness a breaking crest makes itself known with an alien glow of tumbled phosphorescence and roars past. This is not what we expected when we set off…
Hugo Boss: Sailing on board Alex Thomson’s £6million foiling machine
“What’s my speed? What’s the speed? What’s the boatspeed now?!” Alex Thomson hollers into a microphone. Thomson, at the helm of his brand new Hugo Boss, is pumped. As we…
Tidal streams: How to read the waves to gain a sailing advantage
Navigators need to have a close knowledge of tidal streams and currents. The latest studies show just how multifarious even mid-ocean currents are. Closer to the coast, matters of fluid…