A hot weekday morning heralded the arrival of Betty II alongside the floating pontoon at Rowhedge, near Colchester. A sign warned that mooring was limited to two hours – a…
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The Scottish Islands Peaks Race: No wind, no sleep, and a whole lot of effort
The clue is in the name. The Scottish Islands Peaks Race is from Oban to Troon via three islands – Mull, Jura and Arran, 160 nautical miles. And the peaks?…
Rig check: How to inspect and tune your standing rigging for maximum safety
There are many ways a boat’s rigging can fail, but there will also, usually, be important telltale signs indicating that a problem is developing. A good regular check, therefore, will…
Getting away from it all? How the relentless news cycle follows you even when sailing offshore
A new factor in this modern age of cruising is the relationship between the rolling news cycle and crews at sea. Ashore, news is now a relentless, inescapable 24/7 battering…
The BayCruiser 23 review: Why this water ballast trailer-sailer is the perfect weekender
It started with a burp. Well, in a manner of speaking. There was a strange moment soon after the start of my test of the BayCruiser 23 when owner Mark…
How to find the perfect sailing crew match (and avoid know-it-alls)
We’re all different. We have diverse aims, agendas and ways of getting there. All of them are right. So, what holds people back? A large number get their Day Skipper…
Simple tweaks that will immediately improve your boat’s performance to windward
Who doesn’t just love heeling over, bouncing up and down, getting cold and wet and pointing in a direction that bears little relation to where you want to go? Given…
Zhik Spirit of Adventure: How We Sailed the Greek Coast’s Hard Route
From Lefkada, on the west coast of Greece, it’s 150 miles to Aegina, on the other side of the Peloponnese, via the Corinth Canal. You pass through the Gulf of…
Sailing the Shipping Forecast: ‘It became a sun-sparkling day as we approached Kinnaird Head’
Cromarty Sea area Cromarty encompasses the east coast of Scotland from just north of Wick to just south of Aberdeen, including the entire coastline of the Moray Firth and the…
Stop using ‘automotive wire’ on your boat: The critical wiring mistake that makes remaking joints impossible
Electrical wire used on boats should be tinned (covered in solder) along its whole length. However, this is an expensive process, so most production boats have ‘automotive-type’ wire, which allows…