Typical of a purchase driven by the heart, the reality of buying a long keel cruiser struck home immediately when I tried to keep Swedish Lass on the drying mooring…
Yachting Monthly
How it works: Yacht Radar
To utilise radar properly it’s imperative that you learn how to interpret the information displayed. Many objects produce such a poor echo they don’t show up on the screen. Fixed…
How to become an experienced all-round sailor
Don’t worry, I’ve got a wetsuit you can borrow,’ reads the text from Rafa’s mum. ‘No thanks,’ I reply, ‘I have no intention of getting wet… and anyway, I don’t…
‘It’s easy to make friends while cruising’ – Paul Trammell
Sailing singlehanded as I do, I place a high value on my solitude and am quite happy to spend many consecutive days alone. However, sailing alone amplifies the value of…
Cruising around the Bijagos islands: Taking a break from sailing around the world in remote regions
Situated at the mouth of many rivers in Guinea-Bissau, the Bijagos archipelago is one of Africa’s most isolated maritime regions. Strong tides, violent currents, murky waters, rocky reefs, constantly shifting…
‘I moved my anchor locker aft – now we sail better than ever…’
The chain locker in Britannia’s bow was totally inadequate for the 250ft (76m)of 3/8-inch chain I considered to be a bare minimum for my 22-tonne boat. Every time we weighed…
Coppercoat Brian Black Memorial Award 2025: How to win £4,000 in cash prizes
Yachting Monthly’s marine environmental journalism award is being launched with the support of Coppercoat, with cash prizes worth £3,000 and £1,000-worth of new camera equipment up for grabs. The Brian…
A charter in British waters: ‘Only time would tell whether a week’s charter in the UK would be the end of our future family sailing plans, or the start’
The first evening on board our charter in British waters was just like coming home, it felt like we had never been away from life on board and was so…
Zhik Spirit of Adventure: ‘We sailed our yacht through France to volunteer at the Olympics’
Autumn 2021 and we’d only just recently bought Heureuse – a sound and comfortable Moody 346, in need of a little love and a few mod cons. She was safely…
What to wear for sailing during winter
There is something really quite special about finding yourself out on the water and having most of it to yourself. Being the solitary boat in an anchorage or being able…