Babbacombe Bay

On Devon’s eastern flank there is a degree of protection from the prevailing winds and Tor Bay served as an excellent anchorage for the Channel Fleet during the Napoleonic wars.…

laying a kedge anchor

Is your kedge anchor lying forgotten in its locker? Vyv Cox outlines 8 ways you can put it to good use

The coast of Southern Africa can be a cold, windy, inhospitable place, so we decided to tour South Africa and then Namibia by land. But first, we needed a safe,…

For several decades I have acted as Medical Officer for our local steam fair. I have no doubt that my lifelong love of steam was inherited from my father, who…

Anchored off Wangerooge

Navigation The Frisian Islands are in an area of rapid and constant change, so it is essential to use up-to-date charts. German chart pack 3015 is updated annually and comprises…

Martyn Mackrill illustration

I reported for duty and found myself aboard a Trinity steamer, which was to put me aboard a ‘fog-ship’, the North Sand Head light vessel, stationed on the Goodwin Sands.…

Dick Durham

Some sailors leave me feeling distinctly uncomfortable; they leave me with a sneaking suspicion that I haven’t sailed far enough, that I’m too comfortable in home waters, that I’m a…

Anchorages

I’m curious about the way my attitude to weather and forecasting has changed over the years. I’ll never forget being trapped in Cherbourg in a 32-foot wooden gaff cutter with…