As Antigua Sailing Week 2015 gets ready to start this weekend, the 45th edition of the regatta, a record has already been broken by Lloyd Thornburg’s MOD70, Phaedo3. The big…
Yachting World
Get expert offshore cruising advice at World Cruising’s Bluewater Open Weekend
A free open boat weekend for bluewater sailors is being run by ARC rally organisers World Cruising Club at Berthon Boatyard in Lymington on the weekend of 16 and 17…
Wild Oats XI – how mods can keep a nine-year-old racer up to speed
Two themes recurred consistently in interviews with the skippers of the five super-maxis that raced the 2014 Rolex Sydney Hobart: good management and the right people. In both regards the…
Golden Globe 2018 Race round the world is set to recreate a ‘totally retro’ era of epic adventure
In the 47 years since the first non-stop round the world race, the Golden Globe, races circling the globe have become so numerous the venture seems almost commonplace. So today’s…
Astra Esa smartwatch, a wrist-mounted watch/smartphone/display for those on the move
This is the first smartwatch I have seen that is designed for sailing – and it’s as neat to use as it looks, fusing the sailor’s thirst for gadgetry with…
GT35 boat test – a British design for serious and safe ocean sailing
I tested the GT35 on a grey blustery day, the kind of day the average sailor avoids; only the stalwarts and passagemakers were out with us on the water. But…
CNB 76 boat test – more boat for your money
It may sound daunting, but it seems 60ft is no longer a big boat. In typical Philippe Briand fashion the CNB 76 oozes style and elegance – a powerful hull…
VX One: could this be a modern keelboat class to match the popularity of Flying 15?
I’ll come straight out with it: there are some boats that hit the spot from the outset and for me the VX One is on that list. In fact, I’ll…
Video: See how the new Gunboat G4 foiling ‘cruiser’ capsized at the Voiles de Saint Barths regatta
Having been talk of the town in Saint Barths for her foiling antics at the beginning of the week, Eduardo Perez’s foiling Gunboat G4, ‘Timbalero III’ became the hot topic…
Here’s why the Voiles de Saint Barths is one for your bucket list
“Breeze coming in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…full hike, press her down guys!” As we threw ourselves against the padded lower guard wire, arms outstretched to windward as if reaching…
Z is for the Victory class, named after Nelson’s flagship and a stalwart at Cowes Week
One of the most prolific designers of the first third of the 20th Century was Isle of Wight-based Alfred Westmacott, whose portfolio included such popular classics as the Solent Sunbeam…
Voiles de Saint Barths – the model for a perfect regatta? Matthew Sheahan thinks so
When saxophonist Jim Rolland, aka ‘Jimmy Sax’, climbed onto the table and belted out his live solo to Mark Ronson’s ‘Uptown Funk’ the party kicked off. Fuelled by a plentiful…
Jeanneau 64 boat test – a Jeanneau with superyacht ambitions
Here is a yacht guaranteed to surprise. Packed within this 64ft 1in hull, the latest from Jeanneau, are a multitude of qualities that will make you question your preconceptions about…
Advanced Yachts 44 boat test – bonkers, but in a good way
This brave, brazen, brawny example of modern design is arguably the most contemporary monohull of 2014. How the Advanced Yachts 44 looks, how she feels and, crucially, how she makes her…
Wauquiez Centurion 57 boat test – a cruiser at heart
Nowhere is the north/south European divide more evident than in cruising yacht design. The cold North Sea and Baltic types tend to favour function first. For us it’s all about…
Boreal 52 boat test – The sailor’s off-roader
If ‘off-road’ or ‘off-piste’ were categories in sailing, the Boréal 52 would be among the top contenders. From the brushed aluminium topsides to the no-nonsense, multi-layered protection offered by the…
Italia 15.98 boat test – a cool performer
From supercars and pointy shoes to novel pasta shapes, Italian design is lauded the world over. But it can lack practicality – there’s no room for the kids in a…
Broadblue Rapier 550 boat test – Are you ready for a 54ft catamaran that steers like a car?
Marty McFly, Michael J Fox’s lead character in the 1980s film Back to the Future, breaks into a wild electric guitar solo while playing a Chuck Berry number during a…
Rustler 37 boat test – Just your cup of tea?
They say the key to the perfect cup of tea is to use a good old-fashioned teapot. It brews the leaves properly and provides an altogether different tasting cuppa, more…
If I had a hammer . . . a winter voyage to South Georgia by Skip Novak
No matter how well you think you have prepared for a voyage, there are always things that slip through the net. Usually they are minor items that didn’t make the…