I’m looking up at an almost naked young man 60 feet in the air. He’s balancing on a platform built of sticks and branches, raised on a mountain top in…
Cruising
How to go cruising in the Baltic this winter
Sailing in the Baltic is increasingly popular, and for all the right reasons: beautiful cruising grounds, lovely weather, interesting history and hospitable countries. But the 90-day limit for non-Schengen passport…
Cruising the coast of Taiwan: A culture rich in seafaring history
We were still five miles from port when we realised that clearing into Taiwan might not be as simple as we’d hoped. Our VHF radio crackled into life and a…
Skip Novak’s sailing adventure to survey endangered albatross: ‘We threaded through a wall of crystalline icebergs’
The mood on the Vinson of Antarctica was a wee bit on edge. Justino was staring into the radar in the pilothouse and Dion was all eyes on deck in…
Cruising in Corsica and Sardinia: gelato, marine reserves, and medieval history
Thinking of cruising in Corsica and Sardinia? Given its strategic position in the heart of the western Mediterranean, it’s hardly surprising that Corsica has been invaded, conquered and colonised many…
The sailing trip of a lifetime where the Australian Outback meets the sea
“That sea sure is mean,” our kind driver observes as my salty trio climbs into his truck, fresh off a rough-and-tumble crossing of the Gulf of Carpentaria. After 48 hours…
WATCH: Orca yacht sinking – Sailor shares details of two-hour orca encounter which sank his yacht off Spain
Robert Powell and his crew were five miles off the Spanish coast in 40m of water when orcas disabled the yacht's rudder before ramming the hull, causing it to crack;…
‘Lava explodes way up into the sky above us’ – sailing among active volcanoes
Our hulls cut through the translucent waters of the lagoon around Fiji’s largest island, Viti Levu. As we make our way towards the pass, the wind is a perfect 10…
Sailing the Isles of Scilly: Stunning – but challenging – cruising
Often referred to as the sunshine isles, the Isles of Scilly enjoy more hours of sun than the rest of the United Kingdom. The archipelago is outstandingly beautiful, uncrowded and…
Exploring Guyana’s mighty Essequibo River by boat
You don’t see Guyana as you approach it from the ocean, its low-lying coastline perfectly camouflaged against the hazy tropical horizon as the sun rises. And yet you sense it…
Canal shortcuts to paradise: “You could sail through the fjord in two days, but why hurry?”
Canal shortcuts through Scotland Scotland’s famous Caledonian Canal cuts through the Great Glen from Inverness to Fort William and offers cruisers an unforgettable experience. The 50-mile canal first opened in…
Cold water cruising: sailing in perfect tranquility in the San Juan Islands
The weather looked truly terrible for a sail through the San Juan Islands. The week’s National Weather Service forecasts displayed that unwelcome ‘cloud and rain shower’ graphic, puffy gale symbols,…
Sailing the northwest passage in a traditional cutter
Integrity set sail from Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, on 1 June bound for Alaska via Greenland and Arctic Canada. It was a Thursday. With naval superstitions rife among the crew and…
A complete guide to high latitude sailing (and avoiding icebergs)
I’ve just returned home from skippering 59º North’s Farr 65 Falken from Annapolis, Maryland, to Isafjordur in north-west Iceland. We covered over 3,000 miles, sailing via the stupendous Prince Christian…
Pursuing the pacific dream to French Polynesia
Beside the quiet, sun-bleached Mexican town of La Cruz de Huanacaxtle lies a busy anchorage on the north side of Bahía de Banderas. Humpback whales cruise nonchalantly through the bay,…
10 destinations that you should put on your cruising bucket list
Jimmy Cornell can safely be described as the father of modern ocean cruising. He founded the ARC rally in 1986, ran the first circumnavigation rally and has himself sailed over…
Where are we sailing now? Years of cruising data reveals changing habits
I have been tracking the global movement of cruising boats since 1987, when I published the results of my first survey on this subject. In the intervening 35 years I’ve…
The club for young cruisers you might not have heard of
The Young Cruisers Association is not your average yacht club. In fact, it might be the largest cruising association you’ve never heard of. Its ethos is very different to any…
The land of four kings: discovering Indonesia by yacht
The night is almost over when we motor our dinghy across Namatote Strait, drawn by the glinting fluorescent bulbs of a dozen fishing trimarans. The lights that attract the nightly…
Sailing into Venice: how the city of love won my heart
I’ll be the first to admit that I wanted to ‘skip’ Venice. In the myriad of Mediterranean sailing destinations I discussed with my wife and co-captain, Roxy, I thought we…