When I was a student in Liverpool in the mid-1960s, sailing the university’s Firefly dinghies when I ought to have been studying, the local hero was a young man called…
Yachting World
Undaunted – the 42-inch yacht still hoping to become the smallest boat ever to cross the Atlantic
Just 24 hours into his first attempt to sail solo across the Atlantic in Undaunted, his 42-inch yacht, Matt Kent had to turn back. He set off from La Gomera…
Rumours abound as the teams run out of time to make significant changes to their boats
Emirates Team New Zealand is making the most of its status as the dark horse of this America’s Cup. As I write, the Kiwi AC50 has not long emerged out…
What we can expect from the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda – and why there could be surprises
If Jimmy Spithill had been invited to step into a time machine ten years ago to catch a glimpse of what his future looked like, even his famously cool head…
Pitchpoled in the Pacific in an open boat – survival depends on crossing a deadly Pacific Island reef
Webb Chiles is a one-off, writes Tom Cunliffe. The first American to sail single-handed around Cape Horn, he has circumnavigated five times, mostly in small craft, some of them open.…
What is a rogue wave and is it possible to predict where and when one will strike a yacht?
The first oceanographer to define a wave as ‘freak’ was Laurence Draper, a man who preferred to do his science on dry land rather than at sea. While his colleagues…
Night sailing – the essential guide for offshore cruisers
With a full moon and following wind, night sailing can be one of the great pleasures to be had when passagemaking; but on a dark night in a gale it…
Antigua Superyacht Challenge – where giant yachts and their crews compete for barrels of rum
For the British Navy, English Harbour, Antigua was exceptional both strategically and navigationally. Not only is it almost unrecognisable as a harbour from seaward, which meant that from the early…
For or against? Emirates Team New Zealand divides opinion in America’s Cup build-up
It used to be considered the height of treason for a challenger to train with the defender during the preliminaries of the America’s Cup. Yet in the build-up to Bermuda…
Transatlantic in a catamaran – from Reykjavik to Newfoundland via Prince Christian Sound Greenland
Safely aboard in Reykjavik, about to depart for Greenland some 600 cold, grey miles away, I looked at the GRIB files with the skipper and thought: ‘Wow. You call that…
How to round a busy mark – Gold-medal racing tips from Hannah Mills
The Barcolana Race, which features a mass of different yachts all racing on the same course, looks amazing, but there seems to be a certain amount of carnage round this…
How the North Atlantic Oscillation affects European and Atlantic weather
Although we often hear about the expected changes to the weather from the El Niño/La Niña Southern Oscillation (ENSO) it does not have a large effect on the weather in…
Rammed by a trawler off the coast of Brittany: “There was no-one at the wheel”
The 90-ton ketch Johanne was launched in 1929 as a Baltic trader, writes Tom Cunliffe. Bought out of Denmark in the late 1960s, she sailed to Lymington on the west…
Solo sailor Paul Heiney describes battling gale force winds off the Azores
I was 150 miles south-west of the Azores, heading for home, and it was blowing up rough from ahead. I lit the gas, and thought things through. The kettle was…
Expert tips on understanding shipping forecasts and weather broadcasts
When ashore we get our forecasts from a variety of sources, nowadays largely through the internet. However, unless we have the long-range communications of a bluewater cruiser, once our link…
Sir Robin Knox-Johnston refits his famous yacht Suhaili
In 1968, on 14 June at 1420, a 32ft ketch called Suhaili, with Robin Knox-Johnston at the tiller, crossed a start line off Falmouth. Few saw them off, and fewer…
Elliot Brown Bloxworth watch
Tough and rugged but finely crafted and cleverly designed, the Elliot Brown Bloxworth watch was put through its paces by Rob Owen.
Musto midlayer Gore-tex blouson
We asked the Adventure sailing skippers at Rubicon3 to try the Musto midlayer Gore-tex blouson jacket on both land and sea.
Helly Hansen Crew midlayer jacket
We asked the Adventure sailing skippers at Rubicon3 to try the Helly Hansen Crew mid-layer jacket on both land and sea.
Slam flying jacket
This jacket is a good all-rounder, being both functional on the water and smart enough to wear on shore. It has a warm fleece lining with an elasticated waistband for…