Dr Wim Rutten, a 72-year-old retired Dutch physicist was sailing alone from Lerwick to Bergen when an orca appeared and hit the back of the aluminium hulled, seven tonne boat,…
Sailing news
Juvenile orcas imitate White Gladis, attacking yachts off the Iberian peninsula
Juvenile orcas attacking sailing yachts could be imitating the behaviour of one individual adult orca named White Gladis, scientists believe. Orcas have now sunk three yachts off the Iberian coast…
EIA report points finger at US ‘blood teak’ importers breaking sanctions
Thousands of tonnes of ‘blood teak’ have been imported from Myanmar into the United States in the past two years in defiance of US sanctions, the watchdog Environmental Investigation Agency…
Kirsten Neuschafer wins 2022 Golden Globe Race and makes history
Kirsten Neuschafer has become the first woman to win a solo, round the world yacht race after winning the 2022 Golden Globe Race
£1.6bn investment to clean up rivers and coastlines
More than £1.6bn is to be invested by water companies in improving the industry’s infrastructure in England in the next two years, the water industry regulator Ofwat announced recently, in…
How yachts are disposed of – and why it’s so environmentally toxic
The annual volume of composite waste generated by the marine industry each year is a staggering 55,000 tonnes – and it’s predicted to increase by 10% every year in the…
Jet skis finally bound by ‘Rules of the Road’
The new Merchant Shipping (Watercraft) Order will apply existing ship operator rules to personal watercraft and will enable watercraft users to be prosecuted for dangerous and negligent use. The order…
Flare death in Pacific reignites pyrotechnic debate
The tragic death of a Dutch sailor on New Year’s Day after setting off a flare has reignited criticism about the use of pyrotechnic flares on yachts. The RYA is…
Second VAT payments for EU-VAT paid boats returning to the UK
UK residents who bought EU VAT paid boats and based them in the EU will still have to pay VAT again if they want to return their boats to the…
Backing sought for a solo Arctic circumnavigation by yacht
RYA Yachtmaster Instructor Ella Hibbert is looking for sponsors for a singlehanded circumnavigation of the Arctic in her 38ft ketch