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Leader
In the light of a busy Solent summer season, Andrew Bray reflects on the true state of yacht racing

On the wind
Rewards for records – FF200,000 to the first to beat Jet Services’ transatlantic record; rent debate on UK moorings and an 89-year-old fulfils an Atlantic dream

Competition
Your chance to own an original Tim Thompson painting worth ‘6,750

Preece comments
You cannot have just one outright record in a sport as diverse as sailing; others can be just as valid

Letters to the Editor
Spectra watermakers defend their ARC survey results; Rodney Pattisson is worried about multi starts in the Round the Island race and Mini-M in a SAR situation

Dogwatch
A knotty problem when the dinghy goes missing

Volvo Ocean Race 2001
In this 16-page special, we preview the renamed Round the World Race and take a close look at the eight teams revving up for the 23 September start. And Matthew Sheahan finds out how the crews will cope with the new-generation VOR 60s which are faster, more powerful and less forgiving to sail

Cruising Log
Checking into Cuba; two new rallies for bluewater sailors, plus more piracy incidents in the Gulf of Aden and the Straits of Bab el Mandeb

Letter from the northern isles
High latitude highs and lows with Beth Leonard and Evans Starzinger cruising round Iceland

Swedish Fantasi
A pre-season cruise in Sweden’s beautiful Bohuslan region aboard the new Fantasi 44 is as good as it gets, says Malcolm White

The Open experience
Elaine Bunting joins Mike Golding’s Open 60 Ecover for the first leg of the EDS Atlantic Challenge to find out what it’s like to sail these futuristic machines

Why girls are good news
Sponsors are beginning to recognise that women sailors are good for business – and not for their novelty value. Elaine Bunting talks to Emma Richards about her Pindar partnership

Fishtales
Rules disputes are as old as yacht racing but some are more acrimonious than others – take 1934 . . .

Firefly
A belt and braces approach to self-steering pays off

Xtreme Sailing
As his new 110ft trimaran nears completion, French speedster Olivier de Kersauson explains why three hulls are better than two

Leading Edge
Track your boat from an ordinary mobile phone with technology used on the Volvo Ocean Race

Southampton Boat Show planner
No matter how many boat shows you’ve been to there’s always a certain anticipation when the show season comes around again. And this year’s Southampton Show is bigger than ever, with 800 boats, 300 of them on the water. Tim Thomas guides you through the new boats and gear on offer and lists exhibitors to help you plan your visit. Plus news of a Yachting World ticket offer

On test – Moody 38
Matthew Sheahan takes Moody’s replacement for the 36 out in a blow and has a few things to say about centre cockpits

SuperSail
A 152ft Gerry Dijkstra schooner is launched to take part in the Rolex Transatlantic Challenge; plans for the biggest ever sloop, a 246-footer from Ron Holland; and Christoffel’s Lighthouse, a sedate 90ft cutter with racy underwater lines

Hoeked on classics
Dutch designer André Hoek has a bewildering number of huge sailing yachts on his board which would completely dwarf a J Class, yet he started his career working on traditional Dutch sailing barges. David Glenn went to the Netherlands to meet him

Yachts for sale
1000s of yachts in our brokerage pages

Classified ads
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Robin Knox-Johnston
What did mariners do before the magnetic compass came on the scene? Ancient navigators used a simple disk to make a sun compass

 
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