Francesca Clapcich has enjoyed a hugely diverse and successful racing career. Her years racing the Laser Radial at Olympic level honed her wave-riding skills where sailors steer huge arcs –…
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What you need to know to sail across the Pacific
Coffee in hand, I gaze out from our cockpit across the flat lagoon of the palm-fringed coral atoll in Fakarava. We are in the Tuamotus, French Polynesia. Yesterday we swam…
Starlink at sea: all change for cruisers
Starlink, Elon Musk’s low orbit satellite network which delivers low cost high speed internet via a portable dish, has shaken up its offering for cruising sailors and other broadband users…
Double handed sailing skills: Tacking
Double handed sailing skills are increasingly important to master as the recent boom in double handed racing, both inshore and offshore, continues and boats designed for couples to cruise two-up…
World’s coolest yachts: Windward Passage
“A very modern boat for her times: very large stern (almost like today’s naval architecture) and semi-round bilge hull made her very fast in reaching – and with a flush…
GUYOT environnement – Team Europe dismasted in The Ocean Race
Early this morning, Tuesday 9 May 2023, organisers of The Ocean Race have reported that GUYOT environnement – Team Europe has dismasted as the fleet race towards the finish of…
First look: Gunboat’s GB80 and GB70
In the seven years since Grand Large Yachting purchased cult catamaran brand Gunboat and brought it to a new headquarters in the south of France, it has steadily increased its…
World’s coolest yachts: The Waszp
“I’d like to be able to say the AC40 [Women’s and Youth America’s Cup foiler] because hopefully – fingers crossed! – I will be in it and it’s definitely the…
First look: Reichel-Pugh 44m – luxury fast sloop
Bearing the snappy moniker ‘Project 3093’ from builder Vitters, this 145ft design by Reichel-Pugh, the Reichel-Pugh 44m is a fast cruising sloop. Construction on her aluminium hull began in 2022…
St Maarten Heineken Regatta: Kicking off the Caribbean season
The Caribbean regatta season is something of a pilgrimage to the sun, drawing competitors from across North America as well as across the Atlantic. Those coming from northern Europe or…
15,000 miles around Europe’s far north in a windsurfer camping under a sail – a fascinating tale
Most of my deepwater sailing I’ve done in conventional yachts or classics. Board sailing and windsurfers, although I tried my hand years back and enjoyed it, are a world of…
Grand Soleil 40 review: A rare-breed cruiser / racer
Grand Soleil’s latest launch, the Grand Soleil 40, is something of a rarity in today’s market – a cruiser-racer with a comfortable three-cabin interior, yet the ability to excel on…
The coolest record breaking boats
While hyper-luxury superyachts are clearly cool to look at (and would be very cool to own) there’s no denying that speed is cool and this collection of record breaking boats…
First look: Argo 54, a new 54m aluminium super-sloop
Harnessing the design talents of both Rob Doyle (superyachts) and Juan K (raceboats), this sloop promises to be an outstanding performer when she’s finally delivered in 2024. Part of the…
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…
Crew changes aplenty as teams prepare for The Ocean Race leg 4
Crew rotation is proving to be a big feature in this edition of The Ocean Race and once again the crews are being mixed up on all boats as the…
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…
Clarisse Crémer confirms new Vendée Globe sponsor, Alex Thomson heads team
It has been confirmed that Clarisse Crémer’s Vendée Globe campaign is back on with L’Occitane en Provence stepping in as headline sponsor, while British five-time Vendée Globe veteran Alex Thomson…
The coolest catamarans and multihulls of all time
As with beauty, coolness is in the eye of the beholder. While for some, speed is secondary to function or comfort, inherently any list of coolest catamarans and multihulls is…