Bypassing seasonal weather restrictions and being able to relocate quickly are among the factors making…
Special reports
Dismasted at sea: What to do during and after a dismasting
During the 2017 Rolex Fastnet Race, my yacht Olympia’s Tigress, a Beneteau First 40, lost…
Can augmented reality really give us a vision of the future of sailing?
Google’s mission statement is ‘to organise the world’s information.’ This almost impossibly ambitious declaration of…
How to fly a drone like a pro and land it safely back onboard your yacht
With the advent of small, affordable and user-friendly drones, many cruising sailors have adopted them…
Finding crew: How to hire the right help for your ocean crossing
Every November, hopeful crew gather in Las Palmas in the lead up to the Atlantic…
The Round the Island Race – the history of Britain’s favourite race
When Major Cyril Windeler suggested to the Island Sailing Club that it should run a…
Shade and ventilation: How to keep your yacht cool and dry in the tropics
For many cruisers hailing from mild or cooler climates, such as northern Europe or North…
Onboard creature comforts: Little luxuries for sailing around the world
Cruising sailors who also call their boat their home usually give plenty of consideration to…
How extreme barnacle growth hobbled the 2018-19 Golden Globe Race fleet
Eighty-knot gales, 10m-high waves, pitchpoling, loneliness and ever-depleting food reserves… of all the challenges facing…
How to train your crew for an emergency: Everything you need to know
I tried a more proactive approach to making sure both skipper and crew are equipped…
The Dark Transat: how to sail across an ocean after total power failure
A complete power failure mid-ocean is thankfully rare, and it is usually the charging system…
How much does it cost to sail around the world? The real costs of liveaboard cruising
Two years ago my partner Nick and I set off from the UK to fulfill…
Beach rescue – Skip Novak aids lone yachtsman recovering yacht from remote shore
It is rare to leave the Antarctic Peninsula earlier than need be. No matter how…
“What the hell were we doing in this situation?” The true story of the Mutiny recreation for UK television
We staggered up the beach in a remote part of Timor, our weary legs gave…
Yacht shipping versus yacht delivery under sail – which method really costs more and why?
A transocean passage can be a cruising delight, but it can also represent a logistical…
Why do keel failures happen and what can we do to prevent it?
Matthew Sheahan investigates the incidence of keel failure in recent years and finds some worrying…
Conrad Colman’s Vendee Globe story in his own words – “I gave this race my all”
Carbon fibre race yachts are noisy beasts. Sharp creaks from the sheets in the cockpit,…
Could a floating shipping container sink your yacht? How real is the danger?
It is the stuff of every sailor’s nightmare – the unseen object, lurking beneath a…
What is a rogue wave and is it possible to predict where and when one will strike a yacht?
The first oceanographer to define a wave as ‘freak’ was Laurence Draper, a man who…
Rogue waves – real-life stories of the destructive power of the sea
Rogue waves have long divided sailors and scientists. Some question their existence, other schools of…