Kitting out a boat with safety equipment...

  • From the Editor
    Kitting out a boat with safety equipment is an act of trust in the manufacturer?s integrity and test procedures, so that this equipment can fail is nothing short of criminal

  • On the wind
    A rule change means 500-mile days will be the norm in the next Volvo Ocean Race, Tracy Edwards puts a Jules Verne attempt within her grasp and a whale terrorises yachts in Australia. Plus Yachting World get in the thick of it at Cowes; Matthew Sheahan sails with Olympic Gold medallist Ben Ainslie and staff slug it out on the Solent and round the Fastnet rock

  • Andrew Preece
    Let?s hear it for the Olympic Classes World Championships, says Andrew

  • Letters to the Editor
    Why the Channel?s Traffic Separation Scheme has its limitations, a long-term cruiser?s scratch survey on alternative sources of power and a view about whether we should sail to keep fit or keep fit to sail

  • Leading Edge
    The spirit of Jacques Cousteau has gone space age if a flurry of designs for glass-bottomed boats is anything to go by. Is this a trend coming to a superyacht near you? ponders Matthew Sheahan

  • Dogwatch
    Forget Captain Calamity, the scourge of every lifeboat station he passes, the Dogwatch league of honour goes to those quiet eccentrics who quietly pilot their hulks of junk across the oceans

  • Westward ho!
    Despite the threat of an overspill armada from the Solent, the West Country remains a gem of British sailing, a charming blend of hidden anchorages, unspoilt villages and bustling fishing ports that consistently wows home and foreign yachtsmen. We rediscover the area from Torquay to Falmouth and wonder why we ever go abroad when there?s such sensational sailing on our own doorstep

  • Robin Knox-Johnston
    Most of us assume that yachting is all about the sails, but a boat?s engine, although often-neglected, deserves just as much attention

  • Cruising Log
    The diversity of landscapes ? and even of weather ? is what makes Britain such a rewarding destination for cruising, we pay tribute to the heroism and hard work of the Fowey lifeboat service, and Elaine Bunting takes a trip to the Highlands and enjoys good company, superb scenery and lip-smacking whisky with the Classic Malts Cruise

  • Letter from the Indian Ocean
    Ignoring the doom-mongering of the cruiser scuttlebut, Brian Savage and Colleen Ryan are pleasantly surprised by their stopoff in Sri Lanka and are careful not to corrupt the islanders of the Maldives

  • Ocean Ready
    The idea of completing an Atlantic circuit in six months sounds too good to be true, but Colin and Teg Berry prove that with plenty of preparation the dream of a Caribbean sabbatical is not only achievable, it?s thoroughly enjoyable, too

  • Mini madness
    Nowhere is the phrase ?dynamite comes in small packages? more appropriate than when it describes the Mini Transat, a single-handed sprint across the Atlantic on a 21ft surfboard. Mike Kopman hails the bravery (and questions the sanity) of the event?s competitors

  • What?s new
    A full-colour GPS chartplotter from Lowrance, rig-tensioning goes high-tech, Ocean Safety?s space-saving personal EPIRB and Henri-Lloyd?s TP3 Reflex Offshore suit for women on test.

  • Tested: dan buoys
    We put on trial the most popular dan buoys and discover that while they may be simple pieces of safety equipment, they are a long way from being infallible

  • New yachts
    Popular, fun and economical are the watchwords by which boat manufacturers have developed a new breed of America?s Cup spin-offs and sporty daysailers that prove small (or at least smaller) is beautiful

  • On test: bluewater 50s
    Their end purpose is the same ? a 50ft cruiser for dedicated bluewater sailing ? but the Island Packet 485, built in America, and Contest 50CS from Holland are very different machines. Matthew Sheahan weighs up the merits of two boats divided by a common goal

  • Supersail news
    In the wake of Windrose, Holland Jachtbau tackle another supersail schooner, a 120-footer by Andre Hoek, plus launch-day draws near for the 300-ton, 180ft Adèle. And Daphne Morgan Barnicoat reports on the revival of Errol Flynn?s Forties plaything, the 1929 ketch Karenita

  • Twenty knots in 11 knots true
    In his bid to reclaim the west-east transatlantic record, Robert Miller gave a top-flight design team carte blanche to produce a boat without limits and bound by no racing rules. The result is Mari Cha IV, 140ft of uncompromised speed machine and the world?s fastest offshore monohull. James Boyd is in awe

  • Yachts for sale
    1000s of yachts for sale in our brokerage pages

  • Classified ads
    From charts to charter, pumps to properties in our classified pages

  • Ellen MacArthur
    Ellen spends two inspirational weekends simply pottering on the Solent