Describing grand-prix offshore sailors as ‘idiots’ continually in need of rescue (as someone did in a letter to Yachting World recently) is a tad strong in the language. Nevertheless I…
Yachting World
Bras d’Or lake in Nova Scotia is an oasis of calm
Our Mason 44, Frances B, on the run from ever-colder climes farther north, swept by Cape Anguille at the tip of St George Bay on the south-west coast of Newfoundland.…
5 tips on developing your polar diagrams to improve your boat speed
Sails are fresh, the bottom is clean, there’s a good crew, but you’ve been losing out to similar boats on the downwind legs. The helmsman is sailing as close as…
Get out of that! Dismasting – Mike Golding explains what to do as soon as it happens
Although it is difficult to understand exactly what went wrong, we can deduce the following: prior to the dismasting the boat was on starboard and probably footing or reaching under…
Reinventing Barbados – the Caribbean island works to welcome back cruisers
Barbados is one of the most popular tropical islands on the planet, especially with Britons, who flock to its pristine sandy beaches to relax and enjoy the hot Caribbean sun.…
Extraordinary boats: MACIF, an Ultime for the ultimate solo round the world race
With the ORMA 60 and MOD70 trimaran classes successfully killed off, you would have thought that French multihull sailors might do the sensible thing and consolidate their efforts in a…
Chris Tibbs weather briefing: how temperature affects wind
As a group of islands the UK has a maritime climate to match our maritime history. Being surrounded by the ocean does mean that our weather is significantly influenced by…
A late summer cruise on the wild west coast of Ireland
lt’s the last sail of the season. The harbours are empty save for a few stragglers in denial of a season that never was, hoping to catch a final magical…
Skip Novak: want a larger yacht? Sometimes smaller is better for exploratory cruising
Some years ago I piloted a 170ft superyacht down the coast of Chile. It was the owner’s 12th sailing boat, each one progressively larger than his original 40-footer. I assume…
World ARC crews talk to us in Colombia, first stop on their circumnavigation
Thirty-three yachts are in the early stages of a 26,000-mile circumnavigation with the sixth World ARC. It’s a 15-month cruise in company from Saint Lucia and the first stop was…
A brief affair with Graham Greene – a double-ender lists the author as an owner
Graham Greene is not noted for being a great sailor. The author of Brighton Rock, The End of the Affair and other popular novels from the 1930s onwards is better…
5 tips: the port and starboard cross – the simplest rule?
With the wind slowly clocking right your original decision that the pin end was the best place to start may be in doubt, so if a half decent result is…
Green flash: fact or fantasy? Weather man Chris Tibbs explains the science
Caribbean cruising is not complete without sundowners on a beach watching the sun slowly dip below the horizon. Invariably the conversation will turn to the ‘green flash’ and the group…
Ronstan Shock Sheaveless Block
These neat and compact aluminium, low-friction, sheaveless blocks have a multitude of uses. The smallest, weighing just 2g, will take lines of up to 5mm and has a breaking load…
Obituary: Ed Dubois 1952-2016
Few yacht designers were as influential as Ed Dubois, who died in March at the age of 63. He trailblazed a path from racing boats to superyachts and was one…
Get out of that! – Ken Read deals with a wayward spinnaker
This is a highly precarious position, and one that you should never find yourself in because it can be avoided. My first impression/guess would lead me to suggest the crew…
Extraordinary boats: Rambler 88 has won races all over the world. What’s her secret?
“Will I bring Rambler 88 back next year? It’s too soon to be sure, but it’s certainly a possibilty.” The words of owner George David moments after crossing the finish…
Skip Novak: think about a jury rudder before you have to set one in anger
What a pleasure to read in the December issue about the couple who sailed themselves halfway across an ocean after a complete rudder failure. No rescue was called out, this…
How to be a good skipper: ooze calm and confidence but don’t shout!
We become skippers by a number of different routes; many dinghy sailors will eventually become yacht owners after years of crewing on different yachts. Sea schools are well attended and…
Sail repairs on the fly – how to make essential fixes while at sea
During last year’s ARC I was to be found at one point on the pulpit restitching the foot tape of our headsail. I was clipped on a short tether with…