When fellow sailing instructor Liz Le Mare invited me aboard her recently acquired boat, I didn’t need much persuading. She’d recently married a fiercely competitive dinghy sailor, Richard, and their…
Rachael Sprot
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,…
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…
Sigma 38 review: a sheep in wolf’s clothing?
The Sigma 38 plays tricks on me. No matter how long I look, I can’t decide whether it’s a sharp-nosed racer or a gently curved cruiser. Seen from the bow…
Taking your friends and family sailing
They say that relationships formed at sea can founder on shore, but sit back with a glass of wine in a busy marina and you’ll find evidence of the reverse…
Catamaran sailing skills: recover a multihull man overboard
Finding yourself in a man overboard (MOB) situation probably ranks near the top of every sailor’s list of biggest fears whether it’s a monohull MOB of a multihull man overboard.…
Catamaran sailing skills: Mooring and anchoring a multihull
How do you make an average passage speed of 7 knots, fit in three double cabins and a huge saloon in under 36ft of boat length? Add another hull of…
Downwind sails: How to pick the right one and fly it
The words ‘pink spinnaker’ are enough to send a chill down the spine of anyone who’s ever watched Cowes Week disaster footage. There’s Atalanta of Chester, which dis-masted when their…
The tools and spares you shouldn’t sail without
Give a thought to your inventory this winter to keep you cruising next season, says Rachael Sprot
Dawn 39: big sister to the Contessa 32
What does a Contessa 32 with 6ft headroom and an aft cabin look like? Rachael Sprot jumps on board the Dawn 39 to find out