We have got used to chartplotters and GPS being very accurate; sometimes (I think) too accurate as we pass ever closer to obstructions, confident we’ll be safe because it shows…
Sailor’s essential guide to AIS: Everything you need to know
If I were to pick one development that has revolutionised my own sailing over the past 10 years it would undoubtedly be AIS. Not only has it brought an enhanced…
Road to the America’s Cup podcast episode 3: How the AC75’s soft wingsails work
It’s not a completely original idea – it has been tried in the past, but never with the resources that four big, well-funded America’s Cup teams can bring to the…
Enterprise: Is this restored 12 Metre the best yacht to never contest the America’s Cup?
Among the 21 elegant Twelves lining the docks at Rhode Island’s Fort Adams for this summer’s 12 Metre World Championship, sat a yacht that for many was a huge disappointment.…
Pete Goss transatlantic: Vendee Globe racer embraces life in the slow lane
Out of the blackness a breaking crest makes itself known with an alien glow of tumbled phosphorescence and roars past. This is not what we expected when we set off…
Hugo Boss: Sailing on board Alex Thomson’s £6million foiling machine
“What’s my speed? What’s the speed? What’s the boatspeed now?!” Alex Thomson hollers into a microphone. Thomson, at the helm of his brand new Hugo Boss, is pumped. As we…
Tidal streams: How to read the waves to gain a sailing advantage
Navigators need to have a close knowledge of tidal streams and currents. The latest studies show just how multifarious even mid-ocean currents are. Closer to the coast, matters of fluid…
Cruising British Columbia: Exploring Canada’s Wild West coast by boat
The coastline of south-east Alaska and northern British Columbia is a fractured network of islands, like a broken pane of glass, and the Inside Passage threads in between them. My…
Viracocha III: The Chilean reed boat built to sail across the Pacific
Adventurer Phil Buck is no stranger to reed boats, having twice before sailed from Chile to Easter Island non-stop. However, his latest project aims to sail more than twice that…
Southern hemisphere cyclones: Everything you need to know
Although New Zealand is not in the tropical cyclone (hurricane) belt, the remains of Tropical Cyclone Gita hit the west coast of both the north and south islands in late…
Fastnet 79: Could sailing’s biggest disaster ever happen again?
Back in 1979, Ted Turner’s Tenacious won the Fastnet Race, with a corrected time of 3 days 8 hours. Over the last 30 years the average speed across the 605-mile…
Volvo Ocean Race: How Vestas used supercomputer forecasting to gain an advantage
Vestas 11th Hour Racing is unique in that our sponsor Vestas shared the race team’s obsession with understanding how wind flows around various topographies, and we’ve therefore been fortunate enough…
Four Ultimes fly into Biscay in new 14,000-mile Brest Atlantiques race
The four Ultimes set off in a 30-knot north-westerly wind and heavy sea with 4.5 metres waves, and were rapidly reaching boat speeds of 30 knots plus. The start had…
Fastnet 2019: The inside story of an unforgettable race to the rock
They say you should never meet your heroes, lest they be found to be merely mortal. Yet one of sailing’s rarest qualities is that there are a handful of events…
Alex Thomson’s Hugo Boss forced out of Transat Jacques Vabre after collision damage
The first major test for Vendée Globe contender Alex Thomson’s new IMOCA 60 Hugo Boss has ended with Thomson jettisoning the yacht’s keel after hitting a submerged object during the Transat…
Agulhas Current explained: What it is and how it affects Indian Ocean sailors
On any round-the-world cruise by the sunny route, there is the dilemma of how to cross the Indian Ocean. For me the Red Sea Route has no appeal whatsoever and…
Man overboard: How to react and safely recover your crewmate
Turning a yacht around after a person goes overboard (MOB) and heading back in the right direction to retrieve them isn’t always easy when you’re taken by surprise, particularly at…
Liferaft storage and preparation: Top tips from pro sailor Pip Hare
When was the last time you gave your liferaft a second thought? Once bought and installed most of us don’t consider this life-saving piece of equipment again until the service…
French canals offer a scenic route to the Med for sailing yachts
For many skippers wishing to sail between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, it’s necessary to go via the Strait of Gibraltar. However, for shallow draught yachts, an attractive alternative awaits:…
Amokura: The classic yacht celebrating her 80th anniversary on the racing circuit
There’s no shortage of stunning boats moored at Port Pendennis in Falmouth when I visit the marina in June, not least a couple of enormous, shiny superyachts being polished to…