When faced with a splicing job where a fid won’t work I, like most innovative sailors, will reach for a cable tie, or bent wire and electrical tape to find…
Yachting World
‘It’s like being on a rodeo horse’- the Volvo fleet head towards the Roaring Forties
Volvo Ocean Race- Leg 5- New Zealand to Brazil It’s that famous stretch of the Volvo Ocean Race, Leg 5, where the sailors head straight into the Southern Ocean. It…
Ocean Signal’s new AIS alarm for man overboard is the most compact on the market
As smartphones bizarrely continue to get larger, to the point where today’s ‘phablets’ are almost too big to fit in a trouser pocket without attracting attention, the majority of us…
First video of the stunning new Hoek designed 52m Royal Huisman ketch Elfje
There have been a couple of standout plumb bow superyacht ketches launched in recent years, namely the Dykstra designed Hetairos and Kamaxitha. This latest model from Hoek Design called Elfje,…
Baltic sailing: a leisurely cruise with the ARC Baltic to fascinating St Petersburg
It was hazy and hot. The air was still. Sticky even. The seas were calm. Certainly not the conditions we were expecting for Baltic sailing as we motored down the…
Passions in the X One Design – one of the most fiercely contested classes at Cowes
If ever there is a Midsomer Murders episode that involves sailing it ought to star the X One Design. This classic, innocent-looking 21ft day racer is the unlikely inciter of…
5 tips: how to get the best IRC rating
It’s the same type of boat going the same speed, but how come their IRC rating is so much lower than yours? Although getting your rating as low possible is…
Contemporary-looking Solaris 50 designed for short-handed global cruising
This new 50-footer follows the fiendishly cool Solaris 58, which launched in early 2014 – including the pièce-de-resistance dreadnought bow and subtle aft chines. But, at nearly half the price…
Watch this incredible video of killer whales chasing after a motorboat
This incredible video of a pod of killer whales in the wake of a speedboat is an incredible display of their speed – and more than a bit scary. They…
The quickest way to save a man overboard while under spinnaker
In the seventh instalment of our Bluewater Sailing Techniques series we show you the quickest way to stop your boat under spinnaker when crew go overboard
April 2015
Pick up a copy of the April issue of Yachting World, on sale now!
Florence Arthaud: the extraordinary career of one of sailing’s most courageous solo racing stars
It feels unreal that Florence Arthaud is gone. She always seemed the most indestructible of sailors, less vulnerable than many of the male solo sailors I’ve met: truly strong and…
VIDEO: We test out the Moody 54DS in bitterly cold conditions
If there is a yacht you would want to host a party aboard, it’s the Moody 54DS. Step aboard and you’ll see why. The hull is high enough to create…
Can energy drinks and sporting supplements can help you race better?
From water bottles stuffed into cockpit rope bags to Mars bars tucked away in sailing jackets, food and drink on the move for many racing sailors hasn’t altered much over…
Downwind sailing tips: sail more comfortably and faster with this simple main and headsails combination
As exciting as it sounds to fly coloured sails at sea, when it comes to passage making downwind in open seas with a less than idyllic weather forecast, the last…
UK-based Spirit Yachts announce new Spirit 110 superyacht, a performance modern classic design
Ipswich-based builders Spirit Yachts are to unveil a new superyacht design in April. The Spirit 110 will be their biggest design and build to date. It will take the builders…
Video: How do you repair a Volvo 65 with no side or back end?
Recovering a wrecked Volvo 65 from a remote reef in the Indian Ocean and shipping her over 5,000 miles to a yard tucked up against the foothills of the Italian…
Polish crew sets a new record for sailing furthest south in the Antarctic
A Polish crew has set a new record for sailing the furthest south. Selma, a 67ft steel ketch skippered by Piotr Kuźniar and a crew of ten, reached the edge…
Comment: How the Team Vestas Wind crash really happened, and the crucial things we can learn from it
“We’re on a reef, we’re not getting off. We’re f****ed.” After broadcasting a Mayday on VHF radio, those were the first words of skipper Chris Nicholson to his shore manager…
Vestas grounding report – More than just an expensive and embarrassing mistake
Once on the reef there was no way off. Miraculously no one was hurt. Running into a reef that is marked on both paper and electronic charts and for which…