Much of the drive towards scow bow cruising yachts is driven by top level racing sailors. Armel Tripon, who raced the then radical Sam Manuard-designed IMOCA 60 L’Occitane en Provence…
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What happened when the great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens ran away to sea?
When a person is hit by the call of the sea – a wild call which, as Masefield observed, cannot be denied – today’s world offers many options. Varied they…
America’s Cup: What do we know about the teams with 1 year to go
There is now just 1 year to go until the America’s Cup proper kicks off in Barcelona, where Emirates Team New Zealand will take on the winner of the challengers…
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…
5 reasons to follow the 30th anniversary Transat Jacques Vabre
The Transat Jacques Vabre is one of the ultimate tests of short-handed racing, a double-handed dash from France that sees many of the world’s top racing machines take on the…
First look: Swan 108 – new maxi-era Swan
Nautor’s latest model – billed as being the first in the yard’s new Maxi Swan era – was launched in June this year and underwent sea trials in Finland’s Gulf…
First look: Skaw Paradise – mould-breaking mini scow
The Skaw Paradise is a very beamy 11.3m foiling scow bow cruiser with its roots firmly in the racing scene, but with the concepts reworked to produce an ultimate cruiser.…
Coolest boats: Cadet dinghy
“I’ve been lucky enough to sail on a good selection of the ‘coolest’ yachts and I remember the excitement of the first time sailing each of them as I’m something…
Fastest race boat? Meet Wally’s new TP52 beater, the wallyrocket51
“This will be the fastest boat in the world on corrected time,” Wally founder Luca Bassani announced at Ferretti Yachts’ global unveiling of the wallyrocket51 in September. On paper, the…
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…
Dufour 41 review: game-changing 40-footer
The number of bedrooms is usually the first line of enquiry for people looking to buy a house. It helps to categorise and price a property. So it stands to…
Extraordinary boats: Trimaran Trinity
Californian sailor Terri Nelson likes nice things. One of her pet peeves, she tells me from her home in San Diego, is that even when checking into luxe hotels, as…
Great seamanship: inside a volcanic caldera in 50-knot winds
Joe Phelan is one of Ireland’s great sailors. With his wife and equal partner Trish he has been quietly standing out from the crowd for over 50 years, with dinghy…
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…
How to find the right weather window
How do you pick the right departure date? One of the most critical aspects of planning for an offshore passage is choosing the right weather window for departure. A weather…
How to manoeuvre a yacht under power
When handling under power is done well, it’s like a black art. It wasn’t until I became an instructor that I realised it could be broken down into a few…
American Magic win first AC40 showdown at America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta
The second day of racing for the America’s Cup Preliminary Regatta was something of a mixed bag. Three solid fleet races in full foiling conditions were followed by an attempted…
First America’s Cup AC40 races: France and New Zealand share wins
It was a day of firsts in Villanova, some 30 miles along the coast from Barcelona today: the first races in the 37th America’s Cup cycle, the first ‘proper’ races…
Cruising couple hook an unexploded bomb while at anchor!
A Dutch cruising couple were forced to abandon their brand new anchor and chain off the port of Pula, northern Croatia, after they discovered they were entangled with an unexploded…
How to get a multihull ready for bluewater sailing
If you’re contemplating buying a multihull for bluewater sailing, be it a new one or a brokerage yacht, what equipment and spec should you be thinking about? The choices you…