On a cloudy midsummer afternoon, my best friend, Harry Scott, and I waved goodbye to our worried mothers and sailed out of Falmouth’s Carrick Roads – two naïve 20-year-olds, wide-eyed…
solo sailing
Trying to break the 40-day barrier: Thomas Coville and the most radical Ultime yet
This week solo yachtsman Thomas Coville opened the doors to the build of his Sodebo Ultim 3, the newest Ultime trimaran and a conceptually very different design to those seen…
Jean-Luc Van Den Heede wins Golden Globe Race after 211 days at sea
Jean-Luc Van Den Heede today won the Golden Globe Race after an astonishing 211 days and 23 hours at sea, in an incredible demonstration of seamanship. The French skipper sailed across the…
Solo sailor Paul Heiney describes battling gale force winds off the Azores
I was 150 miles south-west of the Azores, heading for home, and it was blowing up rough from ahead. I lit the gas, and thought things through. The kettle was…
Silver Rudder race – the solo challenge for Danish Ironmen
‘If you want to feel real bliss, you have to experience real pain as well,’ so the saying goes. The thought seemed empty and stupid as I tried one more…
10 top tips for shorthanded sailing – from leading British Figaro sailor Alan Roberts
During Cowes Week 2015, I had the chance to sail with rising star Alan Roberts on his 33ft Magma Structures sonspored Beneteau Figaro. Roberts finished 9th in the gruelling Solitaire…
Video: we sail with UK solo sailor Alan Roberts at Cowes Week 2015
During Cowes Week 2015, I had the chance to sail with rising star Alan Roberts on his 33ft Beneteau Figaro Magma Structures. Roberts finished 9th in the Solitaire du Figaro…
Solo sailors such as Alex Thomson embody the motto ‘quitters never win; winners never quit’. They should be our sport’s role models
We know them as shorthanded or single-handed round the world races, the Vendée Globe and the like, but we should really call them single-minded races. An unwavering dedication and almost…
Route du Rhum versus Volvo Ocean Race: the battle for hearts, minds and smartphone viewing
In November two of the greatest ocean races were playing out simultaneously: solo versus crewed. The Route du Rhum versus the closing first leg of the Volvo Ocean Race. It…