John has been sailing with friends for many years but has finally decided to buy his own yacht. It is a 10m cruiser racer which he reckons will be light…
Question of Seamanship
Does steering failure mean a Mayday call?
Sue is owner of Skua, a 40-year-old 10-metre GRP sloop with tiller steering. Sue has owned Skua for about 20 years and has sailed regularly, usually across the English Channel.…
Would you sail if you found water ingress in the bilges?
Andy and Jane are on the trip of a lifetime to the Caribbean on board their 12m cruiser racer Ambition with two crew. They are currently in Las Palmas preparing…
Would you cross an ocean with this skipper?
Bob has just completed his degree, he is a keen dinghy racing helm who has always dreamed of crossing the Atlantic on a yacht before he settles down to a…
Should you risk a short cut on a sailing passage?
George and Janet are on holiday in North Brittany on board their 10m yacht, Roller Coaster. North Brittany has a spectacular coastline with numerous offlying rocks which are up to…
How to avoid this collision in fog while sailing a yacht?
Martin and Barbara, along with their teenage son, Rob, have sailed across to the Channel Islands from the Solent in their 10m yacht. Rob has crewed regularly and already has…
How do you recover a man overboard?
Paul and Emma own a 10m yacht and are day sailing with Paul’s parents on a fine day in early May. The weather is fair so they are all wearing…
The forecast is unsettled, should you leave harbour?
Bill is in Plymouth in September planning a passage to the Med. He has decided that the first leg is to sail to Camaret near Brest in Brittany. His yacht,…
Should you risk crossing a harbour bar in these conditions?
Mike has sailed to Salcombe in his 11m long keeled yacht called Boundless with two friends. He took the east-going spring tidal stream yesterday from Plymouth, 22 miles to the…
How to navigate when a navigation light is obscured
Sue is cruising around the small ports of north Brittany singlehanded on board a 9m cruising yacht. She is intending to enter a small harbour with a visitor’s buoy for…