Features

• Cruise on the wild side
  Dick Pitman sails among elephants on Zimbabwe?s stunning Lake Kariba

• Calendar girls
  Yottie Tottie?s marine belles bare nearly all as they follow in the wake of those celebrated WI calendar girls

• Staying the course
  Jim Little has a rough ride on his RYA Coastal Skipper course in Majorca

• Whale attack!
  ?We were dismasted by a 10-tonne humpback whale?: the eyewitness account

• In Dulcibella?s wake
  Alastair Buchan cruises the East Frisian coast made famous as the backdrop for Erskine Childers? fictional yacht Dulcibella in The Riddle of the Sands

• Christmas gifts
  Peek inside Santa?s grab bag and discover computerised knifes, gaff-rigged dinghies, board-games, bunkside books, and more

• Destinations: Brighton
  Brighton has a unique buzz, Britain?s biggest marina and much-improved facilities for yachts, says Dick Durham PLUS: your free pull-out chart

• Steering clear of Sailor Murphy
  Blue water cruisers Adrian and Lot Sparham find that Murphy?s Law brings out the best in people

• Search for a dream cruiser
  In this month?s Survey! Survey! Survey! Paul Jeffes searches for the perfect cruiser for an adventurous couple

• Turn on the heat
  Simon Jinks explains how to fit a heater and looks at the range of models available

Sailing Skills

• A Question of Seamanship
  The snuffer is jammed, the spinnaker won?t come down and that lee shore is getting closer. What would you do?

• Learning Curve
  Bill and Laurel Cooper find themselves high and dry when they neaped in the Med

• Yachtmaster Class
  Tom Cunliffe says that GPS has earned its position at the heart of modern navigation, especially when sailing in fog

• Sailing Quiz
  Prove your yachting knowledge and you could win a Magellan SporTrak ProMarine GPS, plus `191 charts

• Better Boat Handling
  Simon Jinks explains how to go alongside a quayside or harbour wall while keeping your nerves and topsides intact

• Any Questions?
  Storm tactics, and can moisture absorption bags damage your instruments?
  

On Test

• Broadblue 42
  James Jermain enjoys great off-wind performance and all-weather safety features on this cruising catamaran

• New Gear
  Gill gloves and floating lightbulbs

• Boathooks
  No longer just a wooden pole with a brass hook on the end, YM tests a new generation of boat hook

• Essential Buyers? Guide
  Bringing you the pick of the gear that came out best in YM?s equipment tests

Every Month

• Editorial
  View from the helm

• On Watch
  The fast-track Yachtmaster debate; Tracy Edwards causes maxi-cat mayhem, plus an Atlantic record is shattered

• Next month/YM Books
  Sneak preview of next month?s YM

• Readers? Letters
  Debate rages about Yachtmaster qualifications, and is there a case for introducing marine driving licences?

• This Cruising Life
  Spend time behind the wheel of a Tall Ship under sail and you may soon find yourself addicted, warns Libby Purves

• YM subscriptions
  Save up to 30% each month

• Blue Water Letter
  Colin Lowe overdoses on bananas in the Galapagos Islands before setting sail on a 3,000-mile voyage westward

• A-Z of Second-hand Boats
  The alphabetical odyssey continues with stable Sovereigns, sprightly Springs and the story of the sophisticated Swans

• Around the Coast
  Local news round-up from our coastal correspondents nationwide

• Property
  From Cornish clifftop retreats to modern flats in Napoleonic forts

• Confessional
  Forgive me father for I have sailed?