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…
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What are the most affordable ways to start sailing?
Pardon the liberal use of cliches, but as somebody once said, ‘Sailing equates to standing in a cold shower tearing up £10 notes.’ If it’s racing, it will be £50…
Why I took my Ketch rigged yacht and turned it into a brigantine square-rigger
People have asked why I decided to change a perfectly good ketch into a staysail schooner? It’s a reasonable question. The simple answer is that I always wanted a brigantine.…
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…
Everything you need to know about yacht solar power
Keeping your batteries topped up without having to run the engine is a continuous challenge for cruising sailors, especially those who are highly conscious of their carbon footprint or just…
How to convert a yacht to electric propulsion
There are hundreds, if not thousands of yachts still sailing with 40-year-old diesel engines emitting smoke and pollutants, so is now the time to replace them with a clean, low…
Expert guide: how to tune the rig of a yacht
It is important to have a correctly tuned rig. Boats that have poorly tuned rigs are slower, point lower, heel more, make more leeway and may be more difficult to…
How to get your boat home if you experience an engine failure
Yachts engines are like bodies; we only appreciate them when they stop working. On more than one occasion last year, the engine on my Luders 36ft long-keeled sloop, Nimrod, reminded…
How to squeeze a yacht into a tight marina berth
Jane is on a cruising holiday on board Storm Petrel, her 10m yacht. The boat has a long fin keel and skeg. When engaging astern there is a strong prop…
How to optimise sail trim
It is difficult to describe ‘correct’ sail shape, but the three most important things to consider are: sail draft (the fullness of the sail), draft position, and twist (controlled by…