When ocean sailors are quizzed about their voyages, the most common question they are asked is: “Were you ever scared?” Harry Anderson insists he was not, but when he had…
Cruising
Cruising South Korea: the oppressive restrictions that scuppered our plans
The sea around us was filled with orange and yellow buoys, causing my imagination to go wild with visions of fouled propellers and angry aqua farmers. The markers rose and…
Sailing Patagonia: ‘We hadn’t imagined places so distant and so beautiful’
Patagonia isn’t a place you rush through. At least not if you want to experience it fully. Its fjords and channels, carved by glaciers and swept by wind, demand patience…
‘Mass casualty we face very often,’ says skipper of search and rescue sailing yacht in the Central Med
‘I read in the newspaper about people drowning in the Central Med, and I asked myself whether I needed to do something,’ says Johannes, a one-time Tall Ships Skipper. These…
3,000 Miles to Paradise: Our Unexpected Reality in the Marquesas
‘Laaaaaaaaaand ho!’ The first shouts drifted through the companionway at 0545 on 25 April. Hiva Oa was visible in the pre-dawn light just off our starboard bow. French Polynesia: the…
The mother and daughter team who took on the longest longitudinal yacht race in the world
Fika rolls in the swell as Sophie clings to the mast. Twenty-four hours since we left Melbourne, we are sailing through Bass Strait, notorious for its gale force winds and…
‘What I’ve learned from sailing half way around the world alone’
I was a man obsessed. I longed to see the sea, to sail quietly across its surface driven only by a puff of wind, to smash through the night in…
The ocean citizen science being carried out on yachts
There is a fierce and surprisingly passionate debate unfolding on the deck of Freeranger, our 50ft Beneteau. The question at hand is which weight to use: the big one or…
4 options for sailing around the world (from easy to adventurer)
One of the biggest gifts you can give yourself is time. Time to do the things you love, time to set off on a world voyage on your own yacht.…
How to learn traditional sailing skills: Why learning historic boat handling skills make you a better yacht sailor
I came to traditional sailing by accident, but now I’m here, I’m a convert. And that’s because sailing traditional boats will make you a better all-round sailor. Don’t believe me?…
Sailors share their favourite European secret cruising spots
A European sailing holiday is where many of us first developed a love of discovering unfamiliar anchorages. There’s something about nosing your way into a new bay on a balmy…
‘Deafening roars of thunder coincided simultaneously with mammoth bolts of lightning hitting the sea all around us’
I’ve always found local winds fascinating. One year in France, while racing a Q Class in a classics regatta, a whole fleet of spinnakers blew up ahead of me as…
‘We paired perfect sailing with colourful evenings ashore’: Exploring unexpected Greece by boat
The wind was dying with the light after a lively passage down the western Peloponnese, but a lumpy sea remained. As we sloshed around in the swell, my wife Maxi…
‘It quickly becomes clear that things are not good. What follows is a blur of suppressed panic and a mad fumbled search of the boat…’
Friday evening, 21 February, 2025, and we are anchored inside a reef lagoon in a remote part of Raja Ampat, West Papua, Indonesia. The entrance to the lagoon is narrow,…
Exploring the Tyrrhenian Sea and the hidden islands of Italy
A shirtless sailor in a roughed up inflatable dinghy approached as we sat in the cockpit at anchor. Along with two friends, my wife Roxy and I had just arrived…
Exploring remote British Columbia on a 210ft superyacht
The Inside Passage is one of North America’s great cruising grounds – an intricate, fjord-lined waterway stretching from Vancouver Island to Alaska. It’s a route known for its remote anchorages,…
Saint Lucia: not just a transatlantic stopover
At the end of a long transatlantic crossing, the island of Saint Lucia is a dreamlike landfall. Its hills and Atlantic-facing cliffs emerge slowly over the horizon, taking shape in…
Online sailing communities and apps: Speaking to Sailing La Vagabonde stars
Fleeting acquaintance has always been part of sailing, particularly for bluewater cruisers. A friendship struck up over a rum cocktail or a kids’ playdate in one anchorage might be rekindled…
Cruising around Japan: ‘Small fishing ports on far flung islands became potential cruising destinations’
Far ahead on the horizon we saw the sweep of a lighthouse and the pin pricks of street lamps along the coast. We did some quick maths – the number…
Island-hopping across the vast Indian Ocean
There’s a saying among sailors that plans are only ever made in the sand at low tide. Sailing the world requires meticulous planning and preparation – but also the ability…