I sat back on the saloon roof, leaned against the mast, sipped my beer, and revelled in the moment. Here I was, at long last, perched on my very own…
Cruising life
‘Never before have I sailed in such wild weather’ – struck by a ‘weather bomb’ near New Zealand
Sammy, my sister, was ready to go. She couldn’t wait to put on her skipper’s hat and head off on a great adventure. It was 1998 when offshore sailing was…
Sailing the Orkneys: ‘Bryan saw a tall black fin breaking the water, followed by another – it was a pair of orcas’
Sitting on my living-room floor surrounded by tide tables, pilot books, and almanacs, one part of my upcoming voyage around Britain began to excite me more than the rest. I…
Sailing from Scotland to Ireland: ‘The mountains were swathed in a blanket of cloud and the waves became enormous’
The magic and mystery of the western isles of Scotland capture my imagination and draw me back every summer. This once-great sea kingdom ruled by the Norse and Gaels is…
Scandinavia’s largest regatta: ‘More like a cruising rally than a race’
Cruising yachts in Scandinavia make a beeline for the Danish town of Skagen over every Ascension Day holiday in May. Nearly all of the entrants are production cruisers. This, along…
Sailing across the Irish Sea: ‘We had never seen such evocative scenery’
Bleary eyed, we stumbled out of our sleeping bags as the boat rocked gently on her berth. Fumbling around we clad ourselves with nautical attire, had some breakfast and prepared…
Coppercoat Brian Black Memorial Award: 2024 winners to be announced at Southampton Boat Show
The Brian Black Memorial Award 2024 is sponsored by Coppercoat and there is £4,000 up for grabs for the winners. The deadline for entries this year is 22 August and…
A grudging feeling of gratitude to our awful water companies
Water management isn’t something we talk about enough on our cruising boats. Blue-water sailors think about it a lot, obviously, and we have, in our time, installed – and mothballed…
Sailing to the Scillies and back: ‘In the timeless rhythms of the ocean, this latest period of flux and profound change is the greatest’
Being poked in the cheek and asked ‘Is this annoying? Is this annoying? Is this annoying?’ by my bored 11-year-old daughter Isla was indeed annoying. But what made it even…
‘We got battered by a storm that wasn’t forecast’
Although we had managed a brief visit to St Kilda, the Scottish weather during 2022 had not been great, so my wife Sarah and I pondered going somewhere warm. I…