Martin and Barbara, along with their teenage son, Rob, have sailed across to the Channel Islands from the Solent in their 10m yacht. Rob has crewed regularly and already has…
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Bavaria 30 Cruiser used boat review: Great little family cruising yacht
When you’re looking for a second-hand boat, it’s often easy to imagine that there’s a pretty broad choice in any given category. After spending a while thinking about your priorities…
‘While we were out consuming the local delicacies, a stowaway was surreptitiously finding their way aboard’
Rat in Mi Kitchen, one of the greats by UB40, proved to have a whole new meaning when sailing in Greece this year. A rodent infestation was far from my…
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…
‘Everyone will miss Don, but few will miss his copy’ – Remembering a sailing writing legend
There’s a scene in the film, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, where outlaws Paul Newman and Robert Redford watch from a crag as the distant posse chases them. To…
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…
Kathleen Palmer: One woman’s fight for female representation at the Olympic Games
For the first time in its history, the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris will achieve gender parity. For sailing, this means four women’s events, four men’s events and two mixed…
How to rig a preventer and boom brake: Our expert guide
A well-designed preventer system is just as important as any other part of the rigging, but it’s often an afterthought, sometimes little more than an old mooring line tied around…
How to learn to sail: Catching the sailing wave
When I signed up to improve my sailing knowledge via an RYA Competent Crew course, I didn’t realise it would involve gasping at fins breaking through the water. As I…
Maiden Skipper Heather Thomas: From dinghy lake to Ocean Globe Race winner
Heather Thomas is the first female British skipper to win a round the world race, and her team aboard Maiden, backed by Tracy Edwards MBE, are the first all-female crew…