Heads on yachts, as we all know, represent a range of challenges. Some are physical, some mechanical, and some spiritual. My personal date with destiny came after a lovely weekend…
Cruising life
Is a trip up the west coast of Scotland by yacht the ultimate honeymoon?
Adventures that start with a party are some of the best. After the formalities of saying ‘I do’ and celebrating with family and friends, Stuart and I were now married.…
How to get some ‘me’ time at sea – Lu Heikell
Liz Wardley, Volvo Ocean Race legend, famously quipped she was just getting some ‘me time’ while suspended 30-odd metres above the deck at the top of the mast on a…
‘The boat smashes the shore and the floor bows inwards with each blow’
Setting sail from the Black Sea my husband K and I have enjoyed wonderful journeys through the Bosphorus, Marmara, the Dardanelles and the Aegean, cruising south along the western Turkish…
‘Why I fear a loss of freedom at sea’ – Pete Goss
Much like Asterix, the cartoon character from Gaul, I have never once considered that our coastal sea might one day find the generosity of its appetite being stretched. As a…
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…
Bill King: The sailor who was capsized, dismasted and holed by a shark
The south-west wind is twisting the crab apple trees and the rain is hissing down flattening the white horses in Galway Bay. The grey stones of Oranmore Castle tower up…
Exploring New Zealand by catamaran
The thing about Covid is that it upsets the best-laid plans, as it did for the Island Cruising Club, a New Zealand-based outfit that organises flotillas to sail to the…
‘The shaking of the rig was horrific’
Our nadir was approaching. Our home port of Fremantle, Australia would be 6,880 miles away – straight down. From Bermuda our yacht Zen Again would need to literally fly to…
‘Why I would never have in-mast furling’ Pete Goss
One of my pleasures in life is to wander round marinas nosing at what’s afloat and I’ve started to notice in-mast furling systems are becoming a lot more common. Now…