High topsides, muscular bow sections and a formidable deck house make the Moody DS48 an imposing sight, even standing alongside her on the pontoon. Point her bows towards the open…
Yachting Monthly
Exploring French Polynesia by boat: The call of the South Seas
Friday’s dinner topic in late September, 2022: ‘I don’t want to go to French school. I don’t even speak French.’ ‘You will make friends,’ I argued, but the hoped for…
Which Marine Toilet is Right for Your Yacht?
Yacht sailors push their boats harder, sail further, night and day, and go out in rougher conditions than almost any other kind of boat owner. As a result, they tend…
How to pick up fore and aft moorings
Fancy going to Polperro next weekend?’ I asked my partner Chris on New Year’s Day. ‘We’ve finally got some high pressure coming in.’ I needed to visit Polperro as part…
Just how visible are yachts to shipping?
Having worked aboard merchant vessels as well as being a yacht sailor myself, I’ve gained invaluable insights into the visibility challenges posed by small vessels and the critical importance of…
Don’t cross the Dover Strait. It’s thick with traffic out there
Forty years ago this summer I made my first Channel crossing according to an old, delaminating, mildewed and fading logbook. It is the first logbook I ever kept because prior…
How to plan a cruising route to the north: Sailing to Shetland and Norway
The wind is cold, the air clean and the light majestic. While sailing north might not be everyone’s idea of a relaxing holiday in the sun, for the adventurous of…
The Garmin fēnix 7 Solar Edition sold me on smartwatches and it’s at lowest price ever for Amazon Prime Day
I’ve tested the Garmin fēnix 7 Solar Edition over the course of more than a year of sailing and it has stood up very well. Now, this Amazon Big Deals…
‘Sometimes your boat knows best’
Zen Again was heading west for Africa. We had departed our home port of Fremantle, Western Australia in June. We visited Shark Bay, Cocos-Keeling Islands, Rodriquez, Mauritius and Reunion. Now…
‘Navigating infancy makes rock pilotage and tidal calculation look like a stroll in the park’ – Libby Purves
I applaud the idea of families with small children trying out what cruising would be like with them as crew. One of the many things never mentioned in National Childbirth…