Alan Ker on the Contessa 32 “We were prepared for a very rough night but we didn’t have any inkling how rough it was going to be. As we passed…
Elaine Bunting
Follow Elaine Bunting
World’s coolest yachts: The Snipe dinghy
“I would take a complete crazy thing: a Snipe. I think it’s an excellent boat for kids to start sailing in, and even for grown-ups. I have a Snipe dinghy…
World’s coolest yachts: Jolie Brise
“This choice is made out respect for the boat (and crew),” says Rick Tomlinson. “There is nothing new in sailing, it’s all been done before by someone. Jolie Brise is…
World’s coolest yachts: MOD70 Phaedo
I’d choose the MOD70 without too much doubt because the boat is so beautifully thought out. It is a great combination of speed, safety (even though four of them have…
World’s coolest yacht: J Class Topaz
“I’ve climbed a lot of mountains so choosing the coolest is a tough one, but it has to be the J Class Topaz. I love what we are able to…
New Gear: ResQLink View
Until now, 406MHz personal locator beacons (PLBs) had a major drawback for the user: if the worst happened and you had to set one off at sea, you had no…
New Gear: JOY Self Tailing Cleat
Every so often an invention comes along that is so original and useful you are amazed it was never thought of before. The JOY self-tailing cleat is that: a brilliant…
New Gear: KF Eco Concept Furler
French company Karver Systems produces some of the best designed and engineered furlers, halyard locks, blocks and sheaves on the market. It has also been trying to improve the sustainability…
New Gear: Exocet Gold flight controller
Inside the Exocet Gold flight controller, a modest but swaggeringly-named box of tricks, is the brain that can keep a foiling yacht in flight. Stable flight requires ultra fast computation…
New Gear: Garmin Surround View
Leaving and coming back to a marina berth can be some of the trickiest parts of boating, and more than a few family dreams have foundered on high-stress manoeuvres. The…
20 weird and wonderful facts about the famous Rolex Sydney Hobart Race
10 Key facts from the 69 year history of the Sydney Hobart Race
The boom in around the world racing for all
Have you ever dreamed of sailing in an around the world race, passing Cape Horn or surfing down the face of a breaking wave deep in the Southern Ocean? In…
World’s toughest sailing record: New bid announced
An attempt on the toughest sailing record, the westabout round the world course, is being planned later this year by French sailor Romain Pilliard. The 46-year-old Figaro sailor and IMOCA…
Five very different Atlantic crossing experiences
On the first night of their Atlantic crossing, a ‘dark shadow’ passed 100m away from Christian and Manuela Lücking’s boat. It was unlit and not moving. Unnerved, Christian Lücking called…
Blown Away: How this Nautitech 46 Open was modified for Natasha Lambert
On 12 December, Natasha Lambert realised an ambition six years in the making. Back in 2014, Natasha, then 17, met her hero, Ellen MacArthur, and set her heart on ocean…
Atlantic crossing in a Pandemic? ARC 2020 crews tell their stories
The Covid-19 pandemic derailed the plans of around two-thirds of the crews planning to take part in the annual ARC Atlantic crossing and ARC+ from Gran Canaria to St Lucia,…
Eddie Warden Owen interview: The offshore boss who changed the RORC’s fortunes
Whether at the windswept finish of the Rolex Fastnet Race, or in the wood-panelled rooms of the Royal Ocean Racing Club in London, Eddie Warden Owen is one of the…
Boat hitchhiking: How to sail around the world without owning a yacht
As a boy, Darroch Tait always had his head in a book. He was fascinated by adventures and the discovery of new lands. In his early 30s he decided to…
Locked out and locked in: World cruisers share their COVID-19 sailing dilemmas
When the world abruptly locked down in March, many cruisers were caught out, and soon to be trapped. Hundreds, at least, were on passage at the time, and were forced…
Catamaran sailing across the Atlantic: Why multihulls are taking over the ARC
Something big has happened in ocean sailing. It could be the tipping point in the 34-year history of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers, when multihulls move from minority element to…