Having a breakdown at sea, and especially in the Bristol Channel, would be extremely scary, with very strong tides, navigational hazards and shipping movements, but we were suddenly confronted with…
Yachting Monthly
Discovering Easter Island and Pitcairn by boat
Easter Island (or Rapa Nui) is the most remote inhabited island in the world. Sailing there confirmed it for us. True, we took a detour, sailing north for a few…
Grand Soleil 34.1 review
Getting to know a boat you haven’t met before can be a true voyage of discovery. And in the case of Andy Iyer and his family, with their Grand Soleil…
Should you sail to a fuel dock or wait it out?
John is skipper of a Beneteau Oceanis 34 sailing back to the UK from a holiday in France with two crew. When they left France, the forecast was variable becoming…
The best small cruising yachts in 2023
We have seen a surprisingly large number of builders going against the grain to bring small cruising yachts to market in the last year or so, ranging from trailer0-sailers to…
Exploring the Stockholm archipelago on an electric yacht
Are we now able to rely on an electric drive as an auxiliary engine for a sailing cruiser? Having mused over this for a few years, my husband Niall and…
Everything you need to know about your VHF antenna
When Guglielmo Marconi began sending radio messages between coastal radio stations and ships at sea in 1897, there were plenty who predicted the technology would have very limited scope. Yet,…
Cruising in the beautiful Baltic
When I was a young boy, barely having learnt how to swim, I would stand by the sea in my speedos with goggles tightly strapped around my head and I…
Swapping Studland for Swanage: a cruiser’s guide
Studland’s voluntary no-anchor zone, enforced by the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), has been designated to protect the seagrass growing in the southern part of the bay. The new restriction will…
Why sailors love a good problem – Libby Purves on problem solving at sea
Never underestimate that for some boat-owners (though not necessarily their crews or partners), it is the maintaining and problem-solving that form half the satisfaction. Especially the latter: a puzzle is…