Outside gybing is not purely reserved for boats with extra-short poles or top notch race crews. If you practise, it can be less risky than pulling the clew inside the…
Pip Hare
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 1: Avoiding a Chinese gybe
Chinese gybes on windy days are a good spectator sport, but with the right prompt response they can be averted. This type of accidental gybe is caused by the boat…
Tested: Pip Hare tries out five of the latest weather routeing packages
Every discerning sailor will carry out some sort of weather routeing before going out on the water. The extent to which we are able to predict weather patterns and assess…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 2: Broaching
Most of us will be familiar with that final pull on the helm that cannot be overcome as the boat rounds up to windward in a massive broach. The ensuing…
Atlantic gear test – Pip Hare tests kit on a 5,400nm crossing
Varta High Optics 3C Flashlight – 9/10 Used: every night of the race for sail trim, sail changes, rig checks and problem solving. This handheld torch allowed me to pick…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 3: Gybing
The first time I gybed single-handed it was on a 40-footer with a symmetrical spinnaker. The task seemed insurmountable and I struggled to see how any person could do this…
Tested: AIS MOB devices – help your crew to save your life if you should go overboard
In a safety briefing for the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre race, a French search and rescue pilot told us just how hard it is for a spotter plane to see…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 4: Upwind trim
Sailing to windward on a badly trimmed boat seems like punishment. We have all felt that jarring crash when the boat falls off a wave, or wondered whether we might…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 5: Helming skills
When you’re sailing upwind in a monohull, the key is to minimise helm movement to tiny corrections and keep a steady heel angle. If the telltales are flying and the…
Blog: A final gritty diary entry from Pip Hare as she completes the Transat Jacques Vabre
The 42 double-handed crews lined up at the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre on Sunday 25th October to commence the 5400 miles journey from Le Havre, France to Itajai…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 6: Reaching
Reaching is the glory point of sail for many boats; it’s the time we record our best speeds and eat up the miles on long passages. Setting the boat up…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 7: Light airs sailing
We all know the frustration of trying to sail in light airs – it can be hard to resist firing up the engine. Yet most of us love to trim…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 8: Downwind sailing
Downwind sailing doesn’t have to be about screaming off waves under full spinnaker, and those of us who have crossed oceans in boats that are also our homes will know…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 9: Spinnaker trim
There’s nothing quite like surfing off a wave in the open ocean, spinnaker straining and helm vibrating under your fingertips. For me it’s sailing at its best. In this article…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 10: Hoisting a spinnaker
The basic principles of hoisting a spinnaker are easy to grasp. More importantly, they are the same whether you are sailing fully crewed, short- or single-handed and use an asymmetric…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 11: Spinnaker drop
One manoeuvre that really makes my heart race when sailing single-handed is a spinnaker drop. It can seem like a recipe for disaster as I will often be dropping because…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 12: Spinnaker problems
I have encountered more than my fair share of problems with the spinnaker when single-handed and it can be a total nightmare. The size and power of the sail that…