A well-designed preventer system is just as important as any other part of the rigging, but it’s often an afterthought, sometimes little more than an old mooring line tied around…
Sailing skills
How to learn to sail: Catching the sailing wave
When I signed up to improve my sailing knowledge via an RYA Competent Crew course, I didn’t realise it would involve gasping at fins breaking through the water. As I…
What can be learned from these 4 major accidents at sea?
There are few incidents on board more destructive than a crash gybe. The power unleashed when the wind catches the wrong side of the mainsail is hard to overstate, and…
Why marking the lines on your yacht is crucial
Many cruising yacht skippers mark very little on board their boats. They rely on experience and remembering how the sails should be set in various conditions. But it is an…
How different yacht types change sailing characteristics
Most of Britain’s yacht owners, both now and in the future, will be sailing boats built in the 1960s to 1980s, that are highly durable, structurally sound and capable of…
How to rig a yacht’s mooring lines to avoid chafe
Jenny and Ted are cruising with their two teenage children on board their 10m yacht Oyster Catcher. Forecasters have been warning of wet and windy weather for the next few…
A beginners guide to easy yacht navigation
When you first start to learn about yacht navigation it can seem complex and pretty nuanced, but in reality what you are doing falls into two overarching styles. The first…
‘Dodging ships can feel like being a chicken crossing a very busy motorway’
The North Sea at night: I love it. It can turn wild, like any mountain or desert, but that’s not all the time. When it’s calm, fishing lights appear, dodge…
Sailing around 3,500 miles on the 1917 schooner Oosterschelde: Training in a time warp
I have always wanted to sail on a tall ship; to experience night watches on the high seas, to make sail changes, to helm. Although I’ve done all these things…
How to recover from a violent gybe at sea?
It is the roughest sea Simon has ever experienced. He and his four crew are sailing eastwards on his classic 1960s 12m wooden sloop, Sea Thrift, towards the Azores with…