According to the news and messages from home, the beginning of July is a scorcher, with the heat almost unbearable. How I wish we were experiencing the same! Here aboard…
Cruising guides
Wetter, warmer, sunnier: A forecasters guide to the challenges and opportunities of climate change for sailors
‘Climate change’ is a phrase that can brush past our ears without a thought to its implications. Each day media outlets carry the latest Armageddon-style warnings about the weather of…
Sailing the Shipping Forecast – Cruising the Humber: ‘A big fleet of Darts were racing and we had several enthusiastic waves’
Cruising the Humber The Humber sea area incorporates the interesting but more challenging coastlines of The Wash and North Norfolk, as well as the Humber estuary itself. From the area’s…
Sailing the Shipping Forecast: Tyne’s marvels and Holy Island, ‘A place that stirs the imagination’
The anchorage at Lindisfarne (Holy Island) lies right at the top of the Tyne sea area. Fewer than 10 miles to the south-east are the Farne Islands. But then, with…
Your guide to navigating Caribbean island customs and immigration while sailing
There are great pilot guides written by the likes of Doyle and constantly updated online resources like Noonsite, noforeignland and Navily to help visiting yacht skippers navigate the complex Caribbean…
Sailing Brittany: ‘To be sure of getting a winter berth, you must reserve months in advance’
This was the one shopping trip that I’ll never forget. Indeed, I’ll probably have fond memories of that particular day in Brittany for the rest of my life. I had…
Sailing the Shipping Forecast: Coastal cruising from Stonehaven to Berwick-upon-Tweed
The Forth sea area runs from just north of Stonehaven on the East Aberdeenshire coast southwards to Holy Island off the Northumberland coast, including the approaches to the River Tay…
Sailing the Shipping Forecast: ‘It became a sun-sparkling day as we approached Kinnaird Head’
Cromarty Sea area Cromarty encompasses the east coast of Scotland from just north of Wick to just south of Aberdeen, including the entire coastline of the Moray Firth and the…
Zhik Spirit of Adventure: ‘Water drenched the foredeck followed by the characteristic sound of water rushing into the boat’
Bang!’ Luci’s bow collided with a steep wave, filling the air with a deafening reverberation. Water drenched the foredeck, followed by the characteristic sound of water rushing into the boat.…
Sailing the shipping forecast: Cruising around Fair Isle – ‘Sailing into Scapa Flow, a centre of the Royal Navy during both World Wars, felt like sailing into history’
The island of Fair Isle sits between Orkney and Shetland, and the eponymous sea area encompasses both of these island groups as well as the north coast of Scotland. These…