Admittedly I’m an old duffer, but it still amazes me how communications have developed over my lifetime. The budget for my first single-handed race couldn’t be described as tight; it…
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Remembering the Great Tide 70 years on
Hundreds of laid-up yachts were holed, crushed or simply dashed to kindling in the Great Tide which flooded both sides of the North Sea 70 years ago this year, drowning…
Why Lefkas remains one of Greece’s best islands
Lefkas island in the Ionian Sea is one of my favourite places in Greece. For land travellers it is one of the few islands easily reached by car and represents…
Old Man Sailing heads to France to sell his new book by hand
Sailing alone brings out a certain mastery of life which no other activity can provide. All sailors plan to eradicate obstacles, but out on the ocean they still arise and…
Why the old skills belong in a museum – Libby Purves
The Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood gave me a shock when I went there to interview curators and admire the ancient toys and equipment of bygone infancy. There, in a…
Why sailors love a good problem – Libby Purves on problem solving at sea
Never underestimate that for some boat-owners (though not necessarily their crews or partners), it is the maintaining and problem-solving that form half the satisfaction. Especially the latter: a puzzle is…
Marine toilet: ‘Part of the gig I’m afraid. Get in there, good luck, and call me when you’re done.’
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…
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…
I support women in sailing, but…..
Helena Schneider is an experienced solo offshore skipper and sailing instructor, and shares her experience of sailing with mixed crews
Editor’s letter – June issue now on sale
Sailing is evolving. One of mankind’s oldest forms of transport, the boats we sail now have developed incrementally over centuries, and occasionally in great leaps. The foiling catamarans of last…