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…
Elaine Bunting
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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…
Countdown to adventure: 5 skippers explain how to prepare for bluewater sailing
For most sailors, preparing for an Atlantic or round the world voyage typically takes between a year and three years. According to the surveys we carry out annually with ARC…
Kickstart your Atlantic adventure: ARC 2019 entrants explain how they got there
If Kate or Russell Hall wanted to know where their eight-year-old and six-year-old boys had got to, all they would have to do was look along the pontoon for their…
Rival to the Fastnet Race is launched by Plymouth yacht club to ‘bring race home’
A new race to the Fastnet Rock and back has been launched by the Royal Western Yacht Club of England in Plymouth to bring a classic format offshore race back…
Skippers’ tips: Bluewater sailing secrets of the million milers revealed
“The more I practice, the luckier I get,” the golfer Gary Player used to joke. This old saw became famous because it rang so true. The more you do something,…
Fastnet 79: Could sailing’s biggest disaster ever happen again?
Back in 1979, Ted Turner’s Tenacious won the Fastnet Race, with a corrected time of 3 days 8 hours. Over the last 30 years the average speed across the 605-mile…
Sailing across the Atlantic: Bluewater veterans share top tips for your first crossing
On the afternoon before we left the Canary Islands for the Caribbean for a transatlantic with the ARC, I struck a line through the final item on our jobs list.…
Atlantic sailing routes: 2018 ARC Rally finishers share their experiences
Steven Ismail never really meant to join a rally, but he ended up doing one almost by accident and sailing to a destination he’d never originally intended. Ismail’s crew, a…
Fastnet record eludes Rambler 88 in race that brought back dark memories
Big seas, fast reaching, relentless sail changes and a fast run back from the Fastnet Rock: Rambler 88’s second monohull line honours win of the Rolex Fastnet Race this morning…
2019 Rolex Fastnet Race: Light winds and low pressure promise a super challenge
One of the most challenging and tactical Fastnet Races of recent years lies ahead for the 394 yachts and 3,000-plus crew beginning the race this Saturday, 3 August. A complex…
Andrew Bishop profile: Meeting the man behind the ARC rallies
Do you know this man? Some will barely recognise Andrew Bishop, though his name may ring a bell. Yet others know not only who he is, but clamour to stop…
Beautiful but deadly: Why the Fastnet Rock has always been feared by mariners
It is so notorious among sailors that you could say the Fastnet Rock is the northern hemisphere’s Cape Horn. Legends have formed around this famous landmark: of storms, and shipwrecks…
Mastering the big beasts: what it’s like behind the wheel at the Superyacht Cup
From the towering masts of the 52m schooner Meteor to the carbon bladed racing Baltic 108 WinWin to the fabulous J Class, the 13 yachts taking part this week in the Superyacht Cup…
America’s Cup challenger Malta Altus withdraws as $1m fees deadline draws in
An America’s Cup challenger from Malta has officially pulled out of the 2021 America’s Cup in New Zealand. Malta Altus had been accepted earlier this year as a late entry…
How to cross the Atlantic from the Caribbean to Europe: Everything you need to know
By early summer the peak Caribbean season is coming to a close, ushered out by a fusillade of big regattas. Then, with summer returning to the northern latitudes, crews begin…
How to get paid to go sailing – 5 different options for living the dream
Imagine escaping the daily routine of work, the long commute, the corporate life, the grey skies… What if you were paid to go sailing, or paid while you were sailing?…
Hilary Lister, 1972-2018 Record-breaking disabled yachtswoman dies age 46
“When I’m sailing I go into a different world…it’s like flying.” This is how Hilary Lister described sailing, a sport she discovered in her thirties that took her beyond the…
Ainslie gets £110 million backing from Ineos for second bid to win America’s Cup with BAR team
Anglo-Swiss chemicals and manufacturing company Ineos will fully fund Ben Ainslie’s America’s Cup team in what is the biggest – and fastest – sponsorship investment in British sailing. The £110m…
Bavaria Yachts files for bankruptcy as investors pull out, but catamaran division still going strong
German builder Bavaria Yachtbau sent out shockwaves among owners and the industry last week when it declared insolvency. According to German magazine Yacht, US investors Oaktree Capital Management and Anchorage…