Nancy, my mother, drummed into me a set of lower middle-class rules, the origins and the validity of which remain, a lifetime later, lost to comprehension. Yet still I stick…
Dick Durham
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Remembering the Great Tide 70 years on
Hundreds of laid-up yachts were holed, crushed or simply dashed to kindling in the Great Tide which flooded both sides of the North Sea 70 years ago this year, drowning…
Old Man Sailing heads to France to sell his new book by hand
Sailing alone brings out a certain mastery of life which no other activity can provide. All sailors plan to eradicate obstacles, but out on the ocean they still arise and…
Bill King: The sailor who was capsized, dismasted and holed by a shark
The south-west wind is twisting the crab apple trees and the rain is hissing down flattening the white horses in Galway Bay. The grey stones of Oranmore Castle tower up…
East Coast Rivers: a summer cruising itenary
East Coast rivers are a rich cruising ground. Local sailor Dick Durham shares the best spots to explore this season
Musto Evo GTX Paclite Plus pilot jacket: tested
Dick Durham finds the new Musto Evo GTX Paclite Plus pilot jacket surprisingly light, making it ideal to wear when hauling lines and turning winches
River Swale anchorage: South Deep
Dick Durham mulls the algorithm of a pint ashore while anchored in this River Swale creek on the East Coast
Bénéteau First 38 review: From the archive
There are Bénéteaus and Bénéteaus. Traditional sailors will cast a weather eye to the lean and hungry-looking hulls of the First series of yachts, while the comfort-seeker will be well…
Lively Lady: Sir Alec Rose’s yacht lives again
Dick Durham discovers the restored Lively Lady is still wowing the crowds 50 years after Sir Alec Rose completed his groundbreaking global circumnavigation
Swapping half ropes for halyards
Facing shipwreck on a lee shore didn’t put him off sailing, but then having only one limb of four working didn’t put this MS sufferer off climbing. Dick Durham meets…