Long ago, in the days when paper charts were precious, navigators would sketch out the relevant details in their notebook and take it on deck rather than risk the chart…
sailing skills
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.…
Everything you need to know about swinging moorings
Who goes sailing to spend time in a car park? Yes, marinas are very convenient, but there’s nothing like getting back on your boat after some time away on her…
The secrets behind a compass: What are agonic and isogonic lines?
Imagine for a moment, after a long expedition, you are at the geographic north pole. You look at your compass, but, perhaps unsurprisingly, it is far from pointing at your…
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…
How to pick up fore and aft moorings
Fancy going to Polperro next weekend?’ I asked my partner Chris on New Year’s Day. ‘We’ve finally got some high pressure coming in.’ I needed to visit Polperro as part…
How to deal with an unwell member of your crew
Gerry is regretting taking three novice crew across the North Sea. They are on board Bellatrix, a 12m standard production yacht. They started from Stavanger in Norway and are on…
How to prepare for your Yachtmaster Offshore exam
Many very competent and highly experienced yachtsmen and women don’t have any qualifications at all and are content to keep it that way, but for some reason, not being a…
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…
The sailing rules you can ignore… and those you can’t: an expert guide
Saying ‘International Regulations for the Prevention of Collisions at Sea’ is something of a mouthful, let alone learning all of them verbatim. Commonly called the ‘Colregs’, they are a fine…