More and more sailors are not just dreaming about but actually planning extended cruises to far-away places. While the majority may take any GRP boat across the Atlantic or into…
Boat tests
Q Class: All the soul of a J Class, without the super-sized crew
Glance down past the gunwales while sailing at full pace, and there’s that distinct, mesmerising vacuum left by the midbow wake, as if the very sea below is being sucked…
Two days, one cat: Beyond the brief test drive with the new Outremer 48
Which yacht would you pick if you could choose any? I’m sure this is a game we all often play, and hopefully your answer wouldn’t automatically be the biggest or…
First 36 SE review: Definitely race-winning material
Piran Bay is the most scenic part of Slovenia’s short coastline. The medieval village that lends its name to this busy stretch of water marks the picturesque entry to a…
Faurby 360DS review: Morning maiden sail for a Danish rarity
Cruise for more than a week during a British summer and at some point you’ll run into rain, drizzle, thunder, fog, hail or other tempest. Sitting it out in harbour…
Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 455 review: Can the 45 footer really replace two iconic models?
Combine the innovation of the larger Sun Odysseys from Jeanneau’s previous range, with the sportiness of its smaller models, and the potential for this new 9th generation is strong. But…
Leopard 46 review: Can the new cat fill the 45’s big shoes?
Every brand has its big seller, its big ticket item. Toyota’s Corolla, Nike’s Air Jordan, Ronald’s Big Mac, etc. For Leopard Yachts, it was the Leopard 45. Also branded as…
JPK 1050 review: Absolute top-performing offshore monohull
There are not many production shipyards that specify the weight difference of individual options compared to that of the standard equipment. Fewer still would list single-digit deviations with accounting precision…
Wauquiez 55 review: It shouldn’t work – but it does!
Envisage a flow chart for choosing a new cruising yacht. As well as establishing fundamental decisions – such as monohull or catamaran? Glassfibre or aluminium? – it also asks if…
Pure 42 review: Why this alloy cruiser is the new benchmark for bluewater cruising
It has got busy lately in the explorer segment. While some of the traditional brands like Ovni, Garcia and Bestevaer are still trucking along steadily, new ones have complemented this…
Best Luxury Yachts 2026: The definitive guide to this year’s best!
The definition of the best luxury yacht will differ according to personal opinion and from boat to boat. This year’s nominees in the luxury yacht category of the European Yacht…
Seawind 1170 review: Nimble Aussie catamaran comes to Europe
Nearly 800 Seawind catamarans have launched since the brand’s creation in 1983. These were at first all from Australia, before founder Richard Ward took over the Corsair Trimaran factory and…
Excess 13 review: A great ride and much more
We may think we want that performance multihull, a 50ft+ daggerboard catamaran with the legs to average double figures and outrun weather systems. But for cruising and family sailing do…
Swan 51 review: A new generation of performance cruising
In 1981, Nautor launched its first German Frers design, a Swan 51 that sparked one of the most successful designer/builder relations in yachting. Yet today’s version (by the same team)…
Boreal 56 review: Aluminium explorer yacht with a scow-influenced shape
When it’s blowing a gale and it’s hard to even see outside for the horizontal rain or, worse, sand being whipped off the nearby beach, there’s little appeal in going…
Dufour 48 review: How does this latest big cruiser perform in strong winds?
Today’s cruising monohulls tend to have full forward sections and rather bluff bows that markedly increase interior volumes forward. But how do these new hull shapes handle stronger winds? We…
Vaan R5 review: The 50ft electric multihull pushing sustainable sailing
Vaan is an emerging Dutch brand creating a new generation of markedly different catamarans. Travel 20 miles from the historic city centre of Rotterdam, on through Europe’s largest commercial port,…
Beneteau First 30 review: The affordable planing cruiser that’s fun and fast
When you consider how you got into sailing and how the next generation might do so, it prompts some searching questions. Is sailing dying as a sport and a pastime?…
Dragonfly 36 review: Probably the most fun boat ever!
Tuesday 12 May 2025 in Skaerbaek, Denmark, was a special day, a defining moment in my sailing career. I’m normally deliberately objective when testing, but I admit to really falling…
Double catamaran review: Fountaine Pajot 41 and Fountaine Pajot 44 tested
Continued development and refinement are key drivers behind the ever-increasing popularity of cruising catamarans. The scale of the rate of change in these boats was brought home to me when…