The leeward mark is one of the biggest pinch points on the race course, with the opportunity for huge gains – or the risk of enormous losses. Dylan Fletcher says…
Yachting World
Making the switch: How we become liveaboards
We’re sailing by the Gulf of Venezuela as we approach the Colombian coastline, a notoriously difficult stretch of water with frequent high winds, big swell and current. This night is…
First look: Najad 450CC – next generation model
Najad’s Judel Vrolijk-designed 440 from 2005 was very well regarded at the time and later further improved to create the 450CC in 2016. Now the Swedish yard has launched a…
World’s coolest yachts: Gitana 17
“The Ultimes to me are the most technologically advanced and fastest boats that you can still go offshore with, at incredible speeds and at the same time a robustness and…
Sailing halfway around the world: one family’s cruising adventure
After a fast downwind passage from French Polynesia, we sailed into Fijian waters, just under 12 months after setting off from Lymington in the UK. Once we had cleared customs…
Wave forecasting: software to help your routing
Many years ago on a dark March in the Atlantic we were hit by a large wave on the beam – all went quiet as the yacht was rolled; luckily,…
Southern Ocean sailing: Lessons from Cape Horners
“The closest I’ve ever been to mortality was the capsize at Cape Horn. That was just a horrific experience,” says American sailor Rich Wilson of his Southern Ocean sailing experiences.…
5 tips on strategic starting for sailors
Getting a good start is not just about being fast off the line in clear air. Sometimes the better start can be to wait in the second row near the…
World’s coolest yachts: Olympus Photo
“The late Mike Birch’s Olympus Photo, designed and built by Walter Greene, sits at the root of all modern multis,” says Verdier. “Mike and his boat began the legend of…
Extraordinary boats: Tapio Lehtinen’s Gaia 36 Asteria
Note: Since this piece was written Tapio Lehtinen had to be rescued in the Golden Globe Race after his beloved yacht, Asteria sank in a mere 5 minutes. It is…
Top helming tips to keep your yacht balanced
According to Andy Beadsworth, when you’re helming the boat you’re not so much steering as ‘applying load to the tiller’. “Sometimes the boat heels over and the load comes on…
Sailing to the Galapagos – a land of wonder
The first morning of passage sailing to the Galapagos Islands I leapt out of my berth at 0600, seeking an hour alone. I’d hoped to rise earlier for a full…
Starlink for yachts: true remote connection for your boat
Imagine you’re peacefully anchored in a tight cove on the lee of some remote uninhabited island with zero mobile phone reception. But you unexpectedly need to speak with family or…
World’s coolest yachts: Dilemma
Legendary American yacht designer Nathaneal G Herreshoff is famed for his spectacular America’s Cup designs, drawing every Cup winner for nearly 40 years from 1893-1934. However, among ‘Capt Nat’s’ prolific…
Beneteau and Contest look ahead with new electric yachts
It’s more than five years since electric drives became the default propulsion option for new daysailer designs but they’re now also entering the mainstream for larger yachts. Beneteau’s first electric…
Rolex Maxi Yacht Cup: A feast for the eyes
Walk the hallowed docks of Sardinia’s Yacht Club Costa Smeralda during the Rolex Maxi Yacht Cup and it was impossible to get anywhere fast. The collection of maxi yachts this…
Sailing Svalbard: a photographic expedition in the Artctic circle
It’s 0600 and I hear movement down below, our guide Marcel going for his shower. I’d woken a couple of hours earlier when I knocked a pillow covering the window…
How wingsail technology could revolutionise the shipping industry
On a summer weekend there’s always a bustle of activity on the foreshore at Hamble-le-Rice, on England’s south coast. The whirr of electric air compressors has been the soundtrack to…
How to recover a man overboard
After 45,000 nautical miles racing in the Clipper Round the World Race, skipper Chris Brooks was relieved that his crew on Qingdao never had to put their well-rehearsed Man Overboard…
Stan Honey: the smartest man in yachting?
Stan Honey’s first ever offshore race set the tone for his career. Then a lean and mean 14-year-old racing Lasers out of the Los Angeles Yacht Club, Honey already had…