Outside the tropics much of our sailing takes place in the disturbed westerly airflow that…
Features
36ft Zest is hit by a ‘14m’ rogue wave and dismasted off Spain. Skipper’s story
You know when you’ve been hit by a rogue wave. The energy within it is…
Bear necessities: Cruising the Broughton islands on Canada’s Pacific coast
We left Dead Point at 0800 in a flat calm and entered Beware Passage –…
Skip Novak goes sailing to climb mountains – in the wake of Tilman
I have always thought that voyaging under sail is more gratifying when it has an…
How to plan watches and sleep when sailing short-handed
Before you decide on the best way to run watches double-handed, answer this question: are…
Blog: Pip Hare and her all-woman team win Leg 3 of the Three Peaks Yacht Race
At 1049 on Wednesday morning Jo and Lowri ran over the finish line and straight…
Cockroaches, weevils, moths. How to keep bugs at bay on board
A movement caught out of the corner of my eye: something furtive, small and fast.…
Chris Tibbs weather briefing: how air mass affects the wind direction
I have a lovely old instrument at home which belonged to my grandfather; using dials…
Paul Larsen, world speed record holder, advises on how to avoid a pitchpole
I can see the boat has a reef in and the daggerboards slightly raised, so…
French sailor on a world tour via the North West Passage with a red hen
Guirec Soudée met Monique during a stopover in the Canary Islands when she joined him…
How to be a good crew member on a long ocean passage
Matching skippers and crew can be a difficult process and while there are characteristics we…
What are the best remedies for seasickness? We find out in our transatlantic survey
Seasickness is an age-old problem, but how common is it and how can we prevent…
Short-handed navigation – and how to create your ‘road book’
Navigating when sailing short-handed can be an often-overlooked challenge. It can throw up stressful situations,…
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…
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…
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:…
How to use the outside gybe for short-handed sailing. Pip Hare explains
Outside gybing is not purely reserved for boats with extra-short poles or top notch race…
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,…
Chris Tibbs weather briefing: how temperature affects wind
As a group of islands the UK has a maritime climate to match our maritime…
5 tips: faster foils – make sure your keel and rudder are in tip top condition
If you want to go faster, which would you choose: a new headsail or a…