The Atlantic passage had been strange. The crossing from Scotland to the west coast of Greenland, or vice versa, is usually ‘the meanest Atlantic crossing of them all’, fraught with…
Yachting Monthly
Sailing in the Atlantic: ‘Fog, gales, hurricanes and calms in one voyage’
Zen Again, our Japanese designed and built 1980s IOR ¾ tonner, is a well-equipped ‘pocket’ blue-water cruiser. She has over 50,000 miles under her keel with us and about twice…
Sailing a 100 year old Brixham Sailing Trawler from Scotland to the South Coast
Eight days after leaving Oban on the west coast of Scotland, we arrived at the Fowey estuary on the Cornish coast. The guests and crew on board were oblivious to…
How to clean and remove a boat’s propeller
Propeller fouling causes a marked drop in performance, while electrolytic corrosion can cause serious propeller damage. Propellers should, therefore, be cleaned annually – but a quick clean of the prop…
A cross-channel adventure from Suffolk to the Netherlands
With apologies to Shakespeare – our dilemma could hardly be compared to Hamlet’s, but it was real. Once again, though for the first time since Brexit, we were heading for…
How these mainsail modifications revolutionised my yacht’s performance
Our 1980s Yamazaki Yachts 34, Zen Again, is an IOR (International Offshore Rule) 3/4 tonner masthead cutter, with a fin keel and a skeg-hung rudder, displacing 6,000kg loaded for blue-water…
How transiting the Panama Canal is getting easier
The journey started two months before our transit date, logging on to the website of the canal’s Small Craft Service, ASEM, to register the boat and request a transit date.…
‘Do people charter to go sailing, or to travel to interesting places by yacht?’ – Lu Heikell
When researching ports and anchorages to include in our pilot books, Rod and I tend to spend a lot of our time in some of the most popular places, making…
Your complete guide to yacht pilotage (done properly)
Long ago, in the days when paper charts were precious, navigators would sketch out the relevant details in their notebook and take it on deck rather than risk the chart…
‘Mayday, Grandad overboard!’: A race turned lifeboat rescue
Henry, my grandson, and I decided to sail together for the Fowey Sailing Opal series, the last yacht race series of the season, as his dinghy season was complete and…