Jeanneau 54 We tested the new Jeanneau 64 a year ago from Marseille during a Mistral. It proved a revelation. Her looks, build and finish quality gave a bona fide…
Newport Bucket regatta to continue as ‘Candy Store Cup’ in July 2016
From its casual beginning in Nantucket in 1987, where only seven competitors competed, to its most recent iteration in St. Barths where over 35 yachts took to the race course,…
Gallery: What is it really like to sail across the Atlantic?
First: The experience of a family who crossed the Atlantic in a Hunter 410 with two young children… Yacht: Morning Haze – Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42i Skippers: Dave Hayes & Isabelle…
First British Olympic sailing team members announced but what else does it tell us?
After the long and detailed selection process that is normal for Olympic selection and following the test event in Rio, six British teams (eight people in total) have been confirmed…
Thought you’d left the paperwork behind when going off cruising? How to cut the paper trail
For those who choose to escape the confines of conventional life and spend a few months, years or even the rest of our lives at sea there are many challenges…
SAIL FASTER SAIL SAFER advanced techniques series Part 8: Downwind sailing
Downwind sailing doesn’t have to be about screaming off waves under full spinnaker, and those of us who have crossed oceans in boats that are also our homes will know…
Formula Whisper, the exciting new boat that anyone can learn to foil
As I stepped off the Formula Whisper, our cameraman and photographer Richard Langdon was full of praise for my first attempt at flying. “How polite,” I thought. I had been…
Clipper yacht race crew decide to resume racing after fatality
The crew of the Clipper 70 Ichorcoal, competing in the 2015/15 Clipper Rround the World Race, have decided to continue their race after the death of one of their crew…
Bluewater Sailing Techniques Part 11: snorkelling and diving on reefs
When cruising in the tropics – or indeed sailing round the world – the time spent actually sailing is surprisingly insignificant and, apart from the ongoing task of yacht maintenance,…
Fatality aboard Clipper Race yacht as crewmember struck while taking in a reef
Andrew Ashman (49), a paramedic from Orpington, Kent, is reported to have been struck by the mainsheet or boom as the team were taking in a reef. The accident is…
Drogues and sea anchors: we test a Jordan Series drogue and a ParaAnchor
Drogues and sea anchors are designed to slow a boat or allow it to hold station in extreme weather conditions. They can prevent a possible capsize, roll or broach by…
Why multihulls are becoming ever more popular for cruising
“Actually, there’s an awful lot of space on offer, isn’t there?” you might say after a quick look aboard a modern cruising catamaran at the boat show. “How nice to…
Isn’t this what family cruising is all about? Kicking back on a gentle ocean passage to Hawaii
For ten years my wife, Tiffany, and I had been sailing west round the world on our 34ft gaff-cutter, Vixen. There had been a few detours, for instance up into…
Gallery: Pictures from the start of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race
Scroll down for video Hundreds of amateur sailors from around the world passed under Tower Bridge on Sunday as they began the 40,000 nautical mile Clipper Round The World Yacht…
Video: Oyster 475 and 545 on test, which would you choose?
Oyster’s range spans 48-125 ft LOA and provides a wide variety of routes to achieve the same goal, long distance, luxury cruising. Yet among the nine current models, two of…
Kiwis take overall win in needle match at AC World Series in Gothenburg
When asked how his close friend and skipper of Artemis Racing, Iain Percy would be feeling after his team’s run of poor performance and bad luck, Ben Ainslie took his…
Rocks, rock stars and short legs at Day 1 Americas Cup World Series in Gothenburg
The practice day in Gothenburg had been a hair raising experience for many of the teams as gusty conditions saw several bury their bows and come perilously close to capsize.…
Breezy, nerve wracking conditions for LV Americas Cup World Series in Gothenburg
There is an air of tension around the dockside here in Gothenburg as the six teams prepare for the first of two days racing. The practice races on Friday saw…
Video: Dramatic aerial footage and pictures of the new Mono60 Edmond de Rothschild
These spectacular images and aerial footage of the new Mono60 Edmond de Rothschild have emerged after the boat took to the water for a test sail in Brittany. Launched on…
5 tips: sailing with an asymmetric – how to get yourself out of impossible-seeming situations
You’re blasting downhill on port with the big asymmetric set, searching for a fast route over the next set of waves. As you glance back over your right shoulder to…