Knowing the theory behind how to reduce sail in a storm is one thing, but does that theory work id you do get caught out? We took to the Solent…
Sailing skills
How to dry out alongside with your yacht
Whenever I launch a boat for the start of the season, I say a solemn goodbye to its bottom. As soon as it’s launched the underside becomes a foreign land,…
Heavy weather sailing: How to prepare your yacht for a storm
From South Ocean pitchpolings to North Atlantic hurricanes, much has been written about the means and methods of heavy weather sailing in open water. The column inches tend to be…
Buying a second hand boat: The good, bad and the ugly
For much of the past decade, my wife Sally and I have been dreaming, planning and saving up to sail off on an adventure, together with our friends of the…
How to get a yacht out of a tight berth
Tide Race is an 11m production GRP yacht with a fin keel and a fixed three-bladed prop. While giving plenty of power, the prop also gives a substantial kick to…
The best mast climbing gear for sailors & solo climbers
The best mast climbing gear for solo sailors or double handed sailors can be found in some well known high street stores and not necessarily in a chandlery. This buyers…
Would you set off in fog in your yacht?
Ben is skipper of Leading Light, an 11-metre yacht currently moored in a marina in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. He has two crew. It is early morning in…
The 10 golden rules of boat handling updated for modern times
Mind your bows,’ said my mother in an increasingly high-pitched voice, ‘bit more to port…don’t clip the stern!’ I was 17 and we were in Tesco’s car park in our…
When to replace yacht sails and how to make old sails last longer
Having owned my 1984 Sadler 29, Pasque, for four years, and cruising with family and, more recently, small children on board, we began to get to know her foibles. She…
Digital passage planning and electronic navigation
Drawing up a passage plan is not only common sense, it is a legal requirement under SOLAS V regulation 34 which says that, whatever the size of your vessel, you…