Taking a spinnaker down without the aid of the snuffer or furler is when double handed sailing is a challenging manoeuvre. This will be your biggest sail; it is slippery…
Pip Hare
Double handed sailing skills: The outside gybe
Outside gybing an asymmetric spinnaker is an under-utilised technique by the average sailor – either as a double handed sailing skill or in a fully crewed environment. It can be…
Double handed sailing skills: Inside gybes
Double handed sailing skills are increasingly important to master as the recent boom in double handed racing, both inshore and offshore, continues and boats designed for couples to cruise two-up…
Double handed sailing skills: Spinnaker hoists
Double handed sailing skills are increasingly important to master as the recent boom in double handed racing, both inshore and offshore, continues and boats designed for couples to cruise two-up…
How to put together a yacht’s medical kit
Putting together a ship’s medical kit is a lot like preparing a boat for a long voyage. It is about envisaging all the scenarios that could affect the health of…
Light wind sailing skills with Pip Hare
Keeping a boat moving in light airs can be more challenging than dealing with big winds and seas. It requires a huge level of attention to detail and a lot…
Expert guide to watch handovers
On longer voyages, and passages with larger crews, a good watch system is essential to the efficient running of the boat. But the same watch system can also hinder good…
Flying high: what Pip Hare did next
We hit a wave, the bow bouncing into the air. The roar reverberating from inside the covered cockpit intensifies and I look out of the bubble window to a wall…
What you need to know to head out to sea alone
Solo sailing may seem daunting at first, but if you regularly sail with a novice crew, you’re probably already going through the motions of a solo sailor without even knowing…
Masterclass: Using load cells and strain gauges on cruising yachts
How do load cells work? In very basic terms, a load cell is a unit that is able to measure force and a strain gauge is a type of load…
Masterclass: Pip Hare on tuning an autopilot
The latest generation of autopilots require less manual input to perform well but, besides selecting the correct mode (read Pip Hare‘s piece on how to make the most of your…
World’s coolest yachts: Hydroptère
“I thought Hydroptère was the most incredible boat for a long time,” says Vendée Globe solo sailor Pip Hare of the groundbreaking 60ft (18m) foiler. “It was the first flying…
Autopilot modes: how to make the most of your pilot
I view my autopilot in the same way I view sail plan and weight distribution – a variable that must be adjusted and monitored constantly. Human beings change our steering…
How to create a pilotage plan
Creating a pilotage plan has long been a key navigational skill and most of us will have encountered various examples through our sailing lives. The plan is a simplified recreation…
Pip Hare: My Vendée Globe journey
The Vendée Globe race was everything I ever dreamed it could be, and more. It challenged me every day, it made me scream with laughter, it brought me to my…
Hallberg-Rassy 44 review: from the archive
Stepping aboard the new and comparatively modern Hallberg-Rassy 44, conducting a two-day test during the Swedish winter, the bitterly cold wind is cutting through my four layers of technical clothing…
Vendée Globe rollercoaster for Pip Hare as she makes mid-ocean rudder repairs
The Southern Ocean is renowned for its relentlessness. By the time they reach the final stages of the South Pacific, the Vendée Globe solo sailors have been at sea for…
Vendée Globe racer Pip Hare explains how sailors decide when to turn back
Whenever I show new sailors how to fill out the logbook I make a point of heading the page ‘Passage towards’, rather than inserting an end destination. It’s an old…
2020 Vendée Globe preview: Pip Hare and Paul Larsen’s guide to the fleet
The 2020 Vendée Globe, which sets off on Sunday, November 8, sports one of the most diverse IMOCA fleets the event has ever seen. Over the 33 entries there is…
2020 Vendée Globe: Pip Hare explains how it feels to be on the starting line
The Vendée Globe is the longest continuous racecourse in sport. Like some of the world’s great marathons, it offers something very rare: the opportunity for competitors from a wide range…