The Young Cruisers Association is not your average yacht club. In fact, it might be the largest cruising association you’ve never heard of. Its ethos is very different to any…
Cruising
The land of four kings: discovering Indonesia by yacht
The night is almost over when we motor our dinghy across Namatote Strait, drawn by the glinting fluorescent bulbs of a dozen fishing trimarans. The lights that attract the nightly…
Sailing into Venice: how the city of love won my heart
I’ll be the first to admit that I wanted to ‘skip’ Venice. In the myriad of Mediterranean sailing destinations I discussed with my wife and co-captain, Roxy, I thought we…
Cruising Turkey: magnificent ruins, beautiful flora and fauna
For the last five years we have wend our way from the Channel Islands to the crystal waters of the Eastern Mediterranean. Our 56-footer Kytra is registered in Guernsey so…
Australia to the Seychelles on a classic Swan
It was time to go. Sailing up the east coast of Australia at the end of a cyclone season can be challenging and dangerous for even the most experienced sailors.…
Best sailing films on Netflix, Prime and more
Recent years have seen a proliferation of sailing films arriving on streaming platforms, with Netflix taking the lead on producing original content but there are many other sailing films on…
Sunk by a whale in the middle of the Pacific ocean
“Tommy, this is no joke,” Rick Rodriguez messaged to his friend and fellow skipper Tommy Joyce. “We hit a whale and the ship went down. We are in the liferaft.”…
Sailing in Europe: Your guide to 90 days of summer cruising
Whether you need to fit around work, school, or Schengen zone requirements, three months of sailing in Europe can make for a summer to remember. Exploring the many cruising areas…
How (and why) wood is making a comeback in yacht building
Why would a naval architect and structural engineer used to working with cutting edge materials for America’s Cup teams, including INEOS Britannia, and companies like Airbus, be excited about working…
How to provision a yacht for a long passage
Provisioning a yacht for a long period away from conventional shops, with limited cold store space, dry goods stowage and galley facilities, can be daunting. In a beautifully illustrated new…
How to live aboard a yacht for years at a time
“I probably wouldn’t even recognise the person that I was when I first started,” admits Brian Trautman, skipper of the Amel Super Maramu Delos (and eponymous YouTube channel). In 2009…
Cruising Costa Rica: discovering an unspoilt paradise by boat
The sea curls with distant groundswells as the fragmented skyline of Panama City dips into the horizon. A neat queue of cargo vessels waits at anchor for their turn to…
Adrift in the Pacific: One sailor’s incredible story of survival
Staring down from the cockpit into the cabin of my vintage sloop I tried to imagine watching her fill with water. What would float freely first? How long would it…
Caribbean sailing: BVIs are back and as beautiful as ever
As the 30-seater inter-Caribbean turboprop aircraft banked to starboard, through my small window I caught a first glimpse of Tortola and the Sir Francis Drake Channel. I felt my pulse…
Why have Orcas been attacking yachts? A puzzling mystery
Late in November last year, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston’s Farr 65 pilothouse cutter, Sanjula, was being sailed 10 miles west of Cape Finisterre in Spain when it was surrounded by orca…
Sailing a junk rigged schooner in Greenland
Dave Leet’s Nomad is a junk-rigged schooner which he sails mostly single-handed. He certainly puts the miles in, because although this article is about his experiences in West Greenland, when…
How to be a valuable first mate
Our image of the lone sailor as the hero of the high seas, battling the elements in isolation, does all the second-in-commands of the world a disservice. Every skipper needs…
Expert advice at cruising seminars this spring: book now
World Cruising Club’s popular Ocean Cruising Seminar returns on March 25-26 2023 in Guildford, UK. The weekend seminar is suitable for any sailors considering the transition from coastal cruising to…
Sailing to Greenland: an unforgettable catamaran journey through iceberg-studded fjords
It’s hard to imagine what life is like beyond the borders of our imagination. Sometimes, when you’re lucky enough, life presents itself with opportunities that take you into the realm…
Sailing halfway around the world: one family’s cruising adventure
After a fast downwind passage from French Polynesia, we sailed into Fijian waters, just under 12 months after setting off from Lymington in the UK. Once we had cleared customs…