“When you push off the dock, your life is in the hands of computers – and the guy piloting the boat out of the water, of course. All the systems…
Helen Fretter
Editor
Champagne Hippy: From sunken wreck to luxury charter yacht in 13 months
Champagne Hippy was never expected to sail again. When the keel ripped off the 82ft Polina Star III in July 2015 it sent shockwaves through the marine industry, and left…
The Yachting World hall of fame: 50 yachts that changed the way we sail
1. Mariquita Built: 1911 Design: William Fife III Mariquita is a living link between the ‘Big Class’ behemoths, such as Britannia, the J Class and all that went after, including…
Flyer: The inside story of this Whitbread winner’s amazing restoration
Flyer is one of those yachts that needs little introduction. Designed for the 1977 Whitbread Race by Sparkman & Stephens for Dutch skipper Conny Van Rietschoten, the 68ft aluminium ketch…
Battle of the giants: The inside story of the Brest Atlantiques Race
On Tuesday 5 November four giant trimarans – Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, Macif, Sodebo and Actual Leader, and their double-handed crews – left a grey and sodden Brest on Brittany’s…
Ester: The classic Swedish racing yacht that came back from the dead
The phrase ‘ahead of its time’ is over-used, but in the case of Ester, a remarkable 50ft racing yacht built in 1901, it couldn’t be more apt. For a yacht…
The great escape: Why there’s no bad time to drop everything and sail away
How do we untie the lines that bind us? Family, jobs, homes, schools, pets, friends… our lives are built on the myriad of small connections and huge decisions that we…
Decade in review: How the last 10 years changed the face of sailing
In January 2010 the Yachting World cover shot was of the giant Alinghi catamaran. Our headline wondered if the America’s Cup Deed of Gift multihulls were ‘The World’s Most Advanced…
Sailing security: How to stay safe when cruising around the world
How safe is it to sail around the world and what precautions do you need to take? We asked bluewater sailors who have cruised areas including the Caribbean, Pacific and…
Farewell Plymouth – Fastnet Race finish will move to France on 96th anniversary of historic event
This is the first time that the finish of the biennial 605-mile offshore from Cowes has ever changed. The new destination adds some 90 miles to the course distance. In…
Hugo Boss: Sailing on board Alex Thomson’s £6million foiling machine
“What’s my speed? What’s the speed? What’s the boatspeed now?!” Alex Thomson hollers into a microphone. Thomson, at the helm of his brand new Hugo Boss, is pumped. As we…
Four Ultimes fly into Biscay in new 14,000-mile Brest Atlantiques race
The four Ultimes set off in a 30-knot north-westerly wind and heavy sea with 4.5 metres waves, and were rapidly reaching boat speeds of 30 knots plus. The start had…
Fastnet 2019: The inside story of an unforgettable race to the rock
They say you should never meet your heroes, lest they be found to be merely mortal. Yet one of sailing’s rarest qualities is that there are a handful of events…
Alex Thomson’s Hugo Boss forced out of Transat Jacques Vabre after collision damage
The first major test for Vendée Globe contender Alex Thomson’s new IMOCA 60 Hugo Boss has ended with Thomson jettisoning the yacht’s keel after hitting a submerged object during the Transat…
AAL: The volcanic yacht aiming for a fossil-free circumnavigation
Les Sables d’Olonne is used to waving off circumnavigators – the Vendée Globe, and most recently the Golden Globe, solo skippers start and return from the French Atlantic town. But…
Ràn VII: On board the Stealth Bomber of the Fast 40+ class
Some boats are the sum of their parts, but Rán VII is really the sum of the parts that aren’t there. It is characterised by a focus on reduction –…
Sardinia charter: Living the high life on a crewed Lagoon 620
Beam. Or beam and volume. Those are the dominant characteristics that spring to mind about cruising catamarans. You expect huge full-width saloons and cabins spread out across metres of multihull.…
Veedol: On board Yoann Richomme’s record-breaking Lift 40
A curious pattern repeated in the 2018 Route du Rhum, as the newest designs – like the foiling Ultimes, and foil-assisted IMOCAs Charal and Hugo Boss – were defeated on…
Kraken Cup: The most extreme sailing race you’ve never heard of
“This is probably the most extreme and uncomfortable sailing I’ve ever done,” says Simon Walker. “And I have sailed twice the wrong way around the world, 17 times across the…
Fastnet Race winners: Wizard claims overall prize while French crews dominate
The stars’n’stripes liveried American Volvo 70 Wizard has been confirmed as the overall IRC winner of this year’ Rolex Fastnet Race. Brothers David and Peter Askew from Detroit finished in…