CRUISING

• THE FLOATING VILLAGE
  Andy O?Grady has discovered that landfalls and new friendships go hand in hand for blue water cruisers
• RADAR LOVE
  Passage making without his beloved radar would be lonely and dangerous, says Rich Malone
• GIVE ME A LUCKY BOAT
  Save a berth for Lady Luck and keep cruising happily on, advises Peter Bonsey
• WE SURVIVED HURRICANE IVAN
  SURVIVING IVAN
  Susan Cunningham-Hill?s amazing account of how she and yacht Camille survived Grenada?s devastating hurricane
• OLYMPIC HEROES BARE ALL
  SAILING CALENDARS AND BOOKS
  Christmas gift ideas ranging from calendars of naked Olympic sailors to stunning coffee-table tomes
• BLUE WATERS OF THE BLACK SEA
  Mary Neate escapes the crowds of the Med to cruise the Turkish coast of the Black Sea
• BLUE WATER LETTER
  Colin Lowe is in sight of home after a 10-year circumnavigation from New Zealand

BOATS & GEAR

• A CRUISER THAT CAN HANDLE THE ROUGH STUFF
  NEW BOAT TEST: DEGERÖ 331DS
  What?s fi t for the Finns serves very well in home waters too, says James Jermain in both the Baltic and the Solent
• WHY DID ONE FAIL TO INFLATE?
  LIFERAFTS ON TEST
  YM investigates the latest liferaft standards and fi nds one product that failed to fully infl ate. Toby Hodges reports.
• LIFERAFTS OR DEATH TRAPS?
  Dick Durham discovers what happens when a liferaft is overdue for service
• USED BOAT TEST: BAVARIA 38 HOLIDAY
  Miles Kendall discovers how a production-line boat has stood up to the rigours of a life in charter
• NEW GEAR
  Three pages of gear reviews and in-depth tests
• TENDER TREATMENT
  Could the French fashion for stern-slung dinghies soon be seen in home waters, wonders Ken Endean
• SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL ANCHOR HANDLING
  HANDLING THE HOOK
  Nigel Calder?s Choosing for Cruising series continues with a look at anchor-handling arrangements

SAILING SKILLS

• A QUESTION OF SEAMANSHIP
  Push on or turn and run. What would you do?
• EXPERT ON BOARD
  GETTING THE MOST FROM YOUR MAINSAIL
  A few simple tweaks can make all the difference to the set of your main, says Tom Cunliffe
• LEARNING CURVE
  A father and son take to the liferaft when their yacht starts sinking
• CUNLIFFE ON CRUISING
  Tom Cunliffe learns that small is not always beautiful
• CHARTWORK
  Buoys will be buoys, says Nigel Calder
• ANY QUESTIONS?
  Your cruising queries answered

EVERY MONTH

• EDITORIAL
  View from the helm
• READERS? SERVICES
  Order a back issue or copy of an article
• OPENING SHOT
  The Global Challenge race starts in a blow
• ON WATCH
  YM?s Gipsy Moth IV campaign success
• COMPETITION
  Win Raymarine handheld VHFs worth £1,500
• READERS? LETTERS
  Your right to reply
• LIBBY PURVES: THIS CRUISING LIFE
  Libby is bit by the racing bug
• YM SUBSCRIPTIONS
  Great savings for subscribers
• NEXT MONTH
  What?s coming up in the fi rst issue of 2005
• AROUND THE COAST
  News from our team of local correspondents
• CONFESSIONAL
  Owning up to your sailing sins