There’s no doubt about it, testing second-hand boats is a fun job. You get to meet all kinds of people and sail all kinds of boats which you normally might…
Nic Compton
Hunter Ranger 245 used boat review: Small but mighty
You can’t miss Peter Waite’s boat Curlew. As you come out of the Stoke Gabriel estuary on the River Dart, she’s the first yacht you meet on the line of…
Used boat review: Vertue – A modest little cruising yacht
Anyone who buys a Vertue is buying a boat with a towering reputation. Ever since the prototype was launched in 1936, this modest little cruising yacht, with its well-judged sheer,…
Nordic Folkboat used boat review: One of the most iconic boats ever designed
It’s hardly surprising Richard Gregson owns a Nordic Folkboat, there was only ever one sort of boat he could reasonably buy the owner of the Wooden Ships brokerage firm in…
Kenichi Horie: ‘I want to sail across the Pacific at 100 years old’
This sounds like one of those puzzles that do the rounds on social media: Kenichi Horie held the record for being both the youngest and the oldest person to sail…
25 of the best small sailing boat designs
Nic Compton looks at the 25 yachts under 40ft which have had the biggest impact on UK sailing
Canal cruising in France: how to prepare the boat & crew
When Nic Compton decided to take his family and their boat to the Mediterranean ‘as the crow flies’, he embarked on a steep learning curve to get boat and crew…
1979 Fastnet Race: The race that changed everything
Nic Compton investigates how the UK’s worst sailing disaster - the 1979 Fastnet Race - changed the way yachts are designed
Rod Heikell: Changing the face of Med cruising
Rod Heikell published his Greek Waters Pilot 40 years ago, opening up cruising in the Med to thousands. Nic Compton meets the legendary author
Shakedown Sail in a Freedom 33
Searching for a new boat to replace our beloved Victoria 26 wasn’t easy, writes Nic Compton. During September 2020, after nine months of looking, we placed a Facebook ad that…